Britain’s unemployed could soon receive weight loss jabs as part of government plans to tackle obesity and get people back to work, according to Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
The initiative is tied to a £300 million investment from pharmaceutical company Lilly, which will focus on developing “new treatments” and testing the impact of its weight loss drug, tirzepatide, on worklessness and productivity.
Tirzepatide, marketed under the brand name Mounjaro, is allegedly one of the most effective “weight loss injections” available, surpassing semaglutide (sold as Wegovy for weight loss and Ozempic for diabetes).
Streeting, writing in The Telegraph (UK), claimed the burden of obesity on both the NHS and the economy. He noted that obesity costs the NHS £11 billion annually, more than smoking, and is a major factor in workforce absence, with obesity-related illnesses causing people to take more sick days and, in many cases, leave the workforce entirely.
Image credit: Annushka Ahuja
