Health expert in the East warns weight loss jab not obesity cure
He's calling for more ways to help tackle the problem
A health expert is warning people in the east a new weight loss jab won't be the only cure to solving obesity.
Wegovy, also known as semaglutide, will be made eligible to people who have a body mass index of over 30 or at least 27 and at least one weight-related co-morbidity.
And after the National Institute for Care and Excellence (Nice) gave Wegovy the green light for NHS use earlier this year, it recommends the drug to be taken for a “maximum” of two years.
Dr Simon Cork, of Anglia Ruskin University, focuses on weight loss drugs:
“It’s the first effective drug that we’ve had that allows patients with some of the most severe forms of obesity to lose significant amounts of weight, much more weight than what would be typical through diet and exercise on its own,” he said.
“Patients do need to be aware as currently stated, they will be allowed to take this drug for two years.
“Assuming they lose a significant amount of weight for two years, after that period it will largely be up to them to try and maintain that as much as possible.”
Wegovy will be prescribed through specialist NHS weight management services, alongside a reduced calorie diet and exercise.
It aims to limit hunger which allows people to lose more weight more easily compared to dieting and exercising only.
Wegovy manufacturer Novo Nordisk said semaglutide is in short supply although supplies have been provided to the NHS.
"The tools we have to support people are limited"
An NHS spokesperson said “Around 50,000 eligible patients in England could be prescribed Wegovy through NHS specialist weight management services, that are able to provide appropriate multidisciplinary care.”
But Dr Cork feels more needs to be done to ensure obesity continues to be tackled.
“If this drug is going to be as effective as it is for those people that are taking it, the NHS is going to have to restructure how we treat patients with obesity,” he added.
“The tools we have to support people who have obesity are very limited.
“Hopefully what we will see is the infrastructure around patients being treated with obesity increases so the length of time people are able to take this drug also increases.”