Unemployed to be given weight-loss jags to 'get them back to work'

Writing for The Telegraph, Wes Streeting said that “widening waistbands” were “holding back our economy” as he announced a £279 million investment from Lilly, the world’s largest pharmaceutical company.

During an international investment summit in London, it was revealed that plans for the Lilly investment include real-world trials of giving weight-loss injections to unemployed people to gauge their impact on worklessness and the economy.

The drug tirzepatide, which is made by Lilly, is used to weight-loss and the treatment of type-2 diabetes.

READ MORE: Alex Salmond's body ready to be returned to Scotland, officials say

In clinical trials, tirzepatide has been shown to be more effective than semaglutide, which is marketed as Wegovy for weight-loss and Ozempic for diabetes.

Ozempic has become a popular tool for weight-loss amongst celebrities and influencers in recent years.

However, research has shown that it can increase a user’s risk of developing a severe eye condition as well as being linked to a higher risk of suicidal thoughts.

“As a country, we’re eating more, eating less healthily and exercising less,” Streeting wrote in The Telegraph.

“The costs to the individual are clear – a less healthy and shorter life.

Wes Streeting said the NHS could not always be expected to pick up the tab for unhealthy lifestyles (Image: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire) “Our widening waistbands are also placing significant burden on our health service, costing the NHS £11 billion 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.

“For years, governments have ducked the serious, long-term policy decisions required to tackle its debilitating effects.

“Fears of being labelled ‘nanny state’ have meant nothing has been done and the problem has only got worse.”

READ MORE: Wes Streeting: Lower economic growth due to Brexit a 'fact of life'

He added: “The long-term benefits of these drugs could be monumental in our approach to tackling obesity.

“For many people, these weight-loss jabs will be life-changing, help them get back to work, and ease the demands on our NHS.

“But along with the rights to access these new drugs, there must remain a responsibility on us all to take healthy living more seriously.

“The NHS can’t be expected to always pick up the tab for unhealthy lifestyles.”

Streeting  has previously said he was "terrified" someone was going to die as a result of misusing weight-loss medications such as Ozempic. 

Speaking to The Sun in June, he said his government would be looking at more tightly regulating their use. 

“Whatever you do, do not think that to be Instagram body beautiful that taking this sort of medication is safe or sensible," he said. 

“It is a serious risk to our health. And I am really worried about where we are as a society in terms of body image.

"I'm really worried that drugs that could make a positive difference to our health are at risk of being misused.

"And I'm genuinely terrified that someone is going to die.”

“I think we are going to need much closer clinical oversight and regulation.

"I'm going to be looking at that very carefully if we win the General Election.”

Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman said the Labour government should focus on fixing the issues that cause obesity rather than rolling out the "dehumanising" plans. 

READ MORE: Alba open online book of condolences for Alex Salmond

“Treating a health issue as an economic burden that can be ‘fixed’ by medication is outrageous," she said.

“People are not just cogs to fit into the capitalist machine. Instead of short-term fixes, this Labour government needs to focus on tackling long-term systemic issues that lead to obesity and ill health in this country.

“Suggesting that the only reason someone is unemployed is due to their weight sets a disturbing precedent for further division and shame. It deflects from the wider social inequalities that truly affect unemployment rates that the Labour government should spend more time pondering.

“These horrific and dehumanising plans should be scrapped before they start. It is totally unacceptable for Mr Streeting to suggest this whilst ignoring the vast number of systematic faults and moral failings that need to be tackled in the UK.”