The health secretary’s opinion on the injections “is pretty nuanced,” he told Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge, because although they can be “game changing” in combating obesity, they shouldn’t be “used and abused.”
Obesity is the second leading avoidable cause of cancer and costs the NHS approximately £6.5 billion annually.
Research indicates that within months of beginning therapy with Wegovy, the brand name for semaglutide, also marketed as Ozempic, patients lose an average of 15% of their body weight.
By imitating a natural hormone, the medicine makes patients feel fuller more quickly and for longer.
However, our science correspondent Thomas Moore’s investigation revealed that the health service’s slower than anticipated deployment is denying access to thousands of people who may benefit from it.
People who are so obese feel as though they are fighting a lost battle and that diet and exercise aren’t making much of a difference. In my opinion, the medications can have a significant effect on controlling weight.
