The United Kingdom government has announced plans to provide weight loss medications to unemployed individuals struggling with obesity, to help them return to work. British Health Minister Wes Streeting emphasized the growing burden of obesity on the National Health Service (NHS), citing the staggering 11 billion pounds annual expenditure on obesity-related healthcare costs, surpassing even those associated with smoking, BBC reported. 

The initiative aims to utilise innovative weight loss treatments, such as Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Lilly’s Mounjaro, which have shown promising results in clinical trials. Health Secretary Wes Streeting believes these medications could be “life-changing” for individuals struggling with obesity, enabling them to regain control of their health and rejoin the workforce.

The minister said that unhealthy eating impacts people’s lives, cutting their life expectancy. “Our widening waistbands are also placing a significant burden on our health service, costing the NHS 11bn pounds a year – even more than smoking. And it’s holding back our economy. Illness caused by obesity causes people to take an extra four sick days a year on average, while many others are forced out of work altogether,” Mr Streeting wrote in an opinion piece for the Telegraph.

However, individuals will still need to remain responsible for taking “healthy living more seriously”, as the “NHS can’t be expected to always pick up the tab for unhealthy lifestyles”, he said.

His proposal to use weight-loss medications comes the same day the UK government announced a 279 million pounds investment from Lilly — the world’s largest pharmaceutical company and the chief rival to Wegovy and Ozempic-maker Novo Nordisk in the obesity drug market.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer also expressed support for weight-loss medications during a BBC interview, highlighting their potential benefits for both the economy and public health. He emphasised that these drugs can aid individuals in shedding excess weight, enabling them to return to work and alleviate pressure on the National Health Service (NHS).

However, this approach has also raised significant ethical questions. Dr Dolly van Tulleken, who specialises in obesity policy argued that eligible people should be able to receive the treatment, but warned that this must be coupled with measures to ease healthy food choices. She said, ”It’s incredibly important that people in the UK access healthcare based on their health need rather than their potential economic value.”

She also questioned the feasibility of providing treatment to the millions who could be eligible given that specialist weight management services currently treat only 49,000 people per year.