As 'game-changer' drug is trialled, a stark warning about the impact of Covid-19 on NI's obesity crisis
The covid pandemic could be compounding an obesity crisis in Northern Ireland, it emerged today.
With two thirds of the adult population and a quarter of all children either overweight or obese, the problem is already well established.
Now, health experts are concerned about the impact of covid-19 in exacerbating the situation.
Northern Ireland’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Naresh Chada said: “Evidence suggests that access weight is associated with increased risks in relation to covid 19.”
It comes as it emerged a drug which is used to treat those with Type 2 diabetes has been trialled in helping tackle obesity.
Semaglutide is being branded a “gamechanger” because it has been shown to suppress appetite after research showed it could cut body weight by up to 20%
It apparently works by hijacking the body's own appetite regulating system in the brain, leading to reduced hunger and calorie intake.
Dr Chada would not be drawn on the potential impact of such a drug.
He told Downtown Radio & Cool FM: “Semaglutide is not currently licensed in the UK for the treatment of obesity and so cannot routinely be prescribed at this time for this reason.”
However, he did spell out what is a major issue for the health service in Northern Ireland.
“Particularly worrying is that around a quarter of children aged between 2 to 15 were either overweight or obese which is a similar figure to the previous year,” he added
Meanwhile, publishing the data in the New England Journal for Medicine, lead author, Professor Rachel Batterham from University College London's Centre for Obesity Research, said: "The findings of this study represent a major breakthrough for improving the health of people with obesity.
"Three quarters (75%) of people who received semaglutide 2.4mg lost more than 10% of their body weight and more than one-third lost more than 20%.
"No other drug has come close to producing this level of weight loss - this really is a game changer.
"For the first time, people can achieve through drugs what was only possible through weight loss surgery."