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Wes Streeting has warned that weight loss coups should not be used as an excuse to give up healthy living, as figures reveal the nation is getting fatter.
The Health Secretary said diet and exercise must continue to play an important role and obese people should not expect the NHS to “foot the bill”.
Two in three Britons are classed as overweight or obese and NHS figures show people weighed around a stone more than 30 years ago.
The average middle-aged man weighs 30 pounds and sports a 40-inch waist, while women ages 45 to 64 now weigh an average of 25 pounds, with 36-inch waists.
Streeting’s intervention comes as the NHS prepares to roll out weight loss vaccines to 1.6 million patients.
Wes Streeting (pictured at the Labor conference) warned that diet and exercise must continue to play an important role in people’s lives.
The average middle-aged man weighs 14 kilos and sports a 40-inch waist, while women aged 45 to 64 now weigh an average of 12 kilos, with 36-inch waists (file image)
Mounjaro could help users lose more than a quarter of their body weight in 18 months
They will be available first to the most serious and sick, the Government said last week.
Studies have shown that Mounjaro, described as the “King Kong” of fat-busting hits, can help people lose up to 26 percent of their body weight in 18 months.
Experts say the jabs are a crucial weapon in tackling the obesity epidemic, which is estimated to cost the economy £27 billion a year in healthcare and benefits for those who are unemployed.
Streeting told The Sunday Telegraph: “Obesity is a huge drag on the NHS, the economy and people’s quality of life, which is why obesity vaccines are an exciting innovation.”
“But we don’t want to encourage a culture of dependency where people think it’s okay not to bother eating healthily or exercising because the NHS will foot the bill and the effort to lose weight.”
He added: “People have the right to expect top-quality healthcare, but also the responsibility to look after their own health, so we need to strike the right balance.”
Obesity is the second most common cause of preventable death after smoking and costs the health service £11.4bn a year, putting “enormous pressure on NHS staff and resources”, according to the Secretary of Health. Health.
Both Wegovy and Mounjaro injections are authorized for obese adults and those with a body mass index of at least 27 and weight-related health problems.
Dr Clare Hambling, NHS national clinical director for diabetes and obesity, described the latter as “one of the biggest public health problems we face in this country”.
He said “action across society is urgently needed to turn the tide on the rising rates (of obesity) seen in recent decades and prevent so many lives from being cut short.”