Dangerously obese people to be offered new powerful weight loss jab on NHS
The injection could help people lose a fifth of their body weight, according to trials.
Dr Hilary Jones discusses UK's 'obesity epidemic' on GMB
Another step in the fight against the obesity epidemic in the UK has been taken as a powerful appetite-suppressing jab was approved for weight loss on the NHS. Trials found that people who received the Mounjaro injection lost a fifth of their weight.
Now a weekly injection will be offered to people considered dangerously obese.
It comes as the NHS approved the use of semaglutide, an appetite-suppressing drug, to aid weight loss under the brand name Wegovy last year.
Ozempic, which uses the same active ingredient, is only available on the NHS for those living with type 2 diabetes - although it has been popular among celebrities as a weight loss aid.
As part of the trial, volunteers given the highest dosage of Mounjaro lost 52 pounds after 16 months - or 22.5 percent of their weight, while those given weaker shots dropped between 35 and 49lbs.
Commenting on the study, Professor Sir Stephen O’Rahilly - director of the Medical Research Council Metabolic Diseases Unit at Cambridge University, said: “The results of this trial are very impressive.
“Treatment of people with obesity with a weekly injection of tirzepatide [the non-brand name for Mounjaro] produced weight loss similar to that seen with weight loss surgery.
“Blood tests showed improvements in all the markers of metabolic and cardiovascular health.
“This study, and recent similar reports of a related agent semaglutide, provide secure evidence that people with obesity can be effectively and safely treated using a medication that is based on the modification of naturally occurring hormones."
Don't miss...
Wine and cheese could slash dementia risk, study finds [STUDY]
Lacking one nutrient 'worse for you than smoking' - 8p pill could help [INSIGHT]
Expert's five 'surprising' early signs of dementia you could easily miss [EXPERT]
Similar to Ozempic, Mounjaro - which is made by Eli Lilly - also targets a hormone called GIP to boost its effect on appetite suppression.
It had previously only been approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for some people with type 2 diabetes.
It received a draft recommendation on the NHS for patients with a body mass index of 35 with at least one obesity-related condition.
A four-week supply of pre-filled pen injections of Mounjaro ranges from £92 to £122 for the highest dose.
Prof O’Rahilly said: “In the longer term, these drugs significantly reduce the risks of developing distressing and expensive complications such as Type 2 diabetes, heart attacks and kidney failure, but their cost provides an immediate financial challenge at a time when NHS budgets are tight.
“I am aware of health authorities that are decommissioning the only local obesity services permitted to prescribe these agents, largely due to the concerns about the immediate expense.
“We must continue to work on making our environment less promoting of obesity but that will take political will and time.
“Even if we do so, there will still be people who develop obesity because they have a very strong inherent predisposition.”
Like most medications, the jab does not come without potential side effects.
Some users reported experiencing nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting and constipation.
Prof Sir Stephen O’Rahilly added: “We are clearly in a new era of obesity management where, for the first time, we can have access to medicines which are effective and, though not without some side effects, largely safe.
“The genie is out of the bottle. Safe and effective drug treatment for obesity is not going to go away.”
The Health Survey for England 2021 estimated that 25.9 percent of adults in England are obese and a further 37.9 percent are overweight but not obese.
