From my perspective, the UK government’s push for injectable weight-loss drugs, promoted by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Health Secretary Wes Streeting, seems more about fueling the profits of pharmaceutical giants than genuinely addressing public health or unemployment. While they claim these drugs will tackle obesity and boost the economy, I’ve seen firsthand that they only benefit specific individuals, particularly those with diabetes. A couple of my friends, who are diabetic, have used these medications like Ozempic and Mounjaro, and while they experienced some positive effects, they aren’t miracle drugs for everyone, especially not for the general population dealing with obesity or unemployment.
What Starmer and Streeting are ignoring is that obesity is not an isolated issue; it’s tied to broader lifestyle and socioeconomic factors. Pinning hopes on a clinical trial involving the obese unemployed and an injectable solution, in partnership with the American pharma giant Eli Lilly, smacks of a deeper alignment with corporate interests rather than real concern for public health. The truth is, obesity needs to be tackled at its roots—addressing unhealthy diets, sedentary lifestyles, and access to better food and healthcare options—not just with a quick fix from an injection.
Over the years, countless UK government initiatives to combat obesity have failed—be it promoting healthier eating or the infamous sugar tax. The idea that injections will somehow achieve what comprehensive public health policies couldn’t seems highly unrealistic. Weight-loss drugs might suppress appetite or speed up satiety, but they do nothing to address the underlying causes of poor health choices, particularly the calorie-dense, nutrient-poor diets that are rampant in the UK. Worse still, relying on such drugs could foster a culture of dependency where people think injections are the easy way out, skipping the hard but essential steps of improving diet and exercise.
Moreover, these weight-loss drugs come with numerous caveats and concerns. Take the UK’s NHS, for instance—it already has strict rules on who qualifies for these drugs, with only those suffering from severe obesity and health complications having access to Wegovy, and even then, the system is already strained. Mounjaro isn’t even approved yet. If the NHS does open up wider access to these drugs under government pressure, will manufacturers even be able to meet demand? Given the current shortages, particularly due to private clinics hoarding the supply for wealthier clients, it seems unlikely that the public sector would benefit. The reality is, if access is opened up, prices could soar, exacerbating inequality rather than solving it.
The idea that weight-loss injections will reduce unemployment is, frankly, delusional. Yes, losing weight could improve some people’s health, but it’s far from the biggest factor keeping people out of work. According to the UK’s Office for National Statistics, mental health issues and musculoskeletal conditions are the leading causes of long-term unemployment, not obesity. So, these drugs are unlikely to drive the economic recovery that Starmer and Streeting are envisioning.
Let’s not forget the unpleasant side effects either—nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain are just a few of the reported issues. Worse still, once patients stop using these injections, most of the weight they’ve lost is likely to return. With the cost of these treatments around $1,000 per month per patient, it’s clear that the pharmaceutical industry stands to profit handsomely from patients becoming reliant on these injections.
In reality, weight-loss drugs are just the latest overhyped solution that won’t fix the underlying problems. They are a distraction from more meaningful, long-term approaches to public health and economic recovery, and they ultimately benefit the pharmaceutical industry far more than the individuals or the economy they are supposedly intended to help.
Duruebube Hon. Chimazuru Nnadi-Oforgu
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