RE: GLP-1 weight loss jabs16 May 2026 08:12
Cont:
Along with the high cost of the drugs, some campaigners are concerned that not enough is being done to tackle the root causes of obesity.
Many experts agree that it is a chronic condition which some people are simply more genetically disposed to than others. But it is also strongly impacted by the society we live in, and over the past decades there has been a dramatic shift.
In 1980, adult obesity rates in England were just 6% for men and 9% for women – less than a third of rates today, external, according to the UK Health Security Agency. The Obesity Health Alliance, a co-alition of 70 charities and health organisations, wants the government to act more decisively against the promotion of unhealthy food and drinks.
"Everywhere you turn at the moment, down the high streets, in the supermarkets, when you order online, even when you watch TV adverts, you'll be faced with wall to wall unhealthy food and that's become our cultural wallpaper and it's something that needs to change," said director Katharine Jenner.
"We really need the government to take the bull by the horns and start tackling the food and drink industry."
She stressed that the alliance supports the use of GLP-1s.
"You would expect if there is a good medicine which can help that you would encourage that where possible. In the way you would treat someone with cancer or raised blood pressure."
"We just need to also think about the bigger picture to stop more people heading on to this treadmill of obesity later in life."
'I wish I'd done it years ago'
Like all drugs, GLP-1 medicines and the associated rapid weight loss can have side effects. They can range from nausea through to hair loss to more serious and rare complications like kidney issues and gall stones.
There is also the question of what happens when people stop taking them. Numerous studies have shown that they can rapidly gain much of the weight lost.
But this month the results of a trial of a GLP-1 tablet called Foundayo showed that regular use largely avoided that. Already Wegovy tablets for weight loss are being marketed in the US and a decision on their use here is expected later in the year.
Although no price has yet been set, the tablets may be cheaper, which many hope will allow more to be treated on the NHS.
Wilding said there were more than 50 clinical trials currently underway for different obesity drugs.
"I think that means that there will be more choice, there will be more powerful medicines which could help people who would otherwise have to have bariatric surgery," he said.
"At the end of the day that improves the life of people living with obesity".
David's planning on losing another stone before stopping the injections.
"I wasn't happy with myself, I was depressed, I was in a rut.
"I knew something had to be done but I wasn't doing it and now I've done something. I wish I'd done it years ago," he said.
"Hopefully I can be here for a bit longer, see the grandkids grow up."
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