Wes Streeting has warned that weight loss jabs should not be used as an excuse to give up on healthy living – as figures reveal the nation is getting fatter.
The Health Secretary said diet and exercise must continue to play a major role and that obese people must not expect the NHS to ‘pick up the tab’.
Two in three Britons are classed as overweight or obese and NHS figures show people weigh about a stone more than 30 years ago.
The average middle-aged man weighs 14 stone and sports a 40 inch waist, while women aged 45 to 64 now weigh an average of 12 stone, with waists of 36 inches.
Mr Streeting’s intervention comes as the NHS prepares for the roll out of weight loss jabs to 1.6million patients.
They will be available to the heaviest and sickest first, the Government said last week.
Studies have shown that Mounjaro, described as the ‘King Kong’ of fat-busting jabs, can help people lose up to 26 per cent of their body weight over 18 months.
Experts say the injections are a crucial weapon in tackling the obesity epidemic, which is estimated to cost the economy £27billion a year in health care and benefits for those out of work.
‘But we don’t want to encourage a dependency culture where people think it’s OK not to bother eating healthily or exercising because the NHS will pick up the tab and pay for their weight loss jab.’
He added: ‘People have the right to expect top quality healthcare, but also a responsibility to look after their own health, so we’ve got to get the balance right.’
Obesity is the second most common cause of preventable death after smoking and costs the health service £11.4billion per year, putting a ‘huge strain on NHS staff and resources’, according to the Health Secretary.
Both Wegovy and Mounjaro injections are licensed for obese adults and for those with a body mass index of at least 27 and weight-related health conditions.
Dr Clare Hambling, the NHS national clinical director for diabetes and obesity, described the latter as ‘one of the greatest public health issues we face in this country’.
She said action ‘is urgently needed across society to turn the tide on the rising [obesity] rates seen in recent decades and stop so many lives being cut short.’
