07 September 2023 , 07:00
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A game-changing drug that can help obese patients shed 15 per cent of their body weight is now available on the NHS - but there's already concern about the medication being abused.
A weekly injection of Wegovy - a brand name for the drug semaglutide - could slash risk of conditions such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. The drug is also known as Ozempic when used at a lower dose for type 2 diabetes. It suppresses appetite by mimicking a hormone released after eating.
Tam Fry, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said: “I think it’s wonderful that it’s now available but it has got to be very tightly controlled. People should not be abusing it who don’t need it.”
Dr Stephen Lawrence, of Warwick University, said 'the issue of obesity is not just a pharmacological one', adding there were also socioeconomic and psychological factors to the medical problem. He said: “ The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said the drug should go to the most obese patients, with at least one linked health problem."
It will be prescribed by specialist NHS weight management services. The NHS said 50,000 patients in England could be eligible. This new generation of jabs offer a “fantastic opportunity” to ease pressure on the NHS from weight-related conditions, Dr Lawrence added. Helping people shed pounds will cut their risk of a raft of serious health conditions including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and cancer. And Dr Lawrence rejected the suggestion from some doctors that weight loss drugs are a lazy way to lose weight.
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