UK to offer weight-loss jabs to obese unemployed to boost health, job prospects

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Obese, unemployed individuals in the UK will soon be eligible for weight-loss injections to help them regain health and return to work, according to British Health Secretary Wes Streeting.

Streeting, in an opinion piece for the Telegraph on Monday, stated that obesity is a significant factor impacting both personal health and the country’s workforce.

"As a country, we are eating more, eating less healthily, and exercising less. The costs to the individual are clear – a less healthy and shorter life," he wrote.

Streeting emphasized that illnesses caused by obesity lead to an average of four additional sick days per year per affected individual and force many out of work entirely.

He described the latest generation of weight-loss medicines as “lifechanging” and noted that they could ease the burden on the National Health Service (NHS) by reducing obesity-related illnesses, which cost the NHS an estimated £11 billion ($14.3 billion) annually.

The recently announced government plan will conduct real-world trials to evaluate the impact of weight-loss jabs on reducing worklessness. Streeting believes these trials could yield long-term benefits in addressing the obesity crisis.

On Monday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced at the International Investment Summit that the UK’s life sciences sector would receive a £279 million ($364 million) investment from the world’s largest pharmaceutical company, Lilly. The investment is expected to support the country’s health initiatives, including the new weight-loss jab program.

Streeting expressed optimism that the weight-loss injections would not only improve individuals’ health but also have a positive economic impact by reducing obesity-related sick days, ultimately benefiting the country’s workforce and economy.