Over a third of public want NHS to offer weight loss injections

Experts question the benefits of weight loss drugs as weight gain can recur when injections are stopped, and NICE currently only supports use of semaglutide for two years

An Ipsos survey has discovered that weight loss jabs Wegovy, Ozempic and Mounjaro are yet to win over the British public. The research was designed to understand public awareness, perceptions, and possible use of these treatments.

While 51% of British adults polled believed themselves to be overweight or obese, only 30% reported having heard of weight loss injections. Awareness decreased with age, with 18-34-year-olds more familiar than those aged 55-75; 44% compared to 19%. However, 79% of respondents did not know anyone who has used them.

The public is split over whether treatment should be offered on the NHS, with 37% in favour and 32% opposed. If available on the NHS, 24% of Britons would contemplate using weight loss injections in the future, compared with 7% who would pay privately, at a cost of £180-£220 per month. This increased to 46% and 17% respectively among a small sample of people who considered themselves obese.

Kate Duxbury, Research Director at Ipsos UK said: “The public is divided on whether the NHS should be offering the jabs to those who are obese, suggesting a debate over the trade-offs between the immediate cost of this service and the potential for a healthier population – though people who are overweight or obese are more supportive of the NHS offering the injections.”

Wegovy and Ozempic contain semaglutide while Mounjaro contains tirzepatide — both antidiabetic medications — both of which make patients feel fuller, sating appetite. The MHRA considers Wegovy and Mounjaro to be safe in weight loss and management but has not approved Ozempic for such purposes.

Wegovy is already available on the NHS, with Mounjaro available from March 2025. However, the waiting time for Mounjaro, which will cost the NHS £122 per patient per month, could be up to 12 years, and people must have a BMI over 35 and at least one other obesity-related health problem.

“There is a risk that when people stop taking the medicine they regain weight, particularly if nothing else in their everyday lives has changed.”

Experts question the benefits of these drugs as people can regain weight when they stop using it. Jean Adams, Professor of Dietary Public Health at the University of Cambridge said: “In terms of benefits for public health, NICE has concluded that semaglutide can help people lose weight. However, they currently only support use for two years. There is a risk that when people stop taking the medicine they regain weight, particularly if nothing else in their everyday lives has changed.”

Professor Adams added: “Making healthier choices easy, accessible and affordable to everyone may make it easier for people to maintain weight loss achieved with semaglutide. This includes things like subsidising healthier foods and taxing less healthy foods, restricting advertising and other promotions for less healthy foods, and making sure that healthier foods are easily available in our neighbourhoods, schools and workplaces.”

Martin Rutter, Professor of Cardiometabolic Medicine at the University of Manchester is carrying out the first “real-world study" into the effectiveness of tirzepatide, measuring the impact on the job prospects of people living with obesity in Greater Manchester. The five year clinical trial will quantify the medicine’s long-term effects on obesity, diabetes incidence, and obesity-related complications.

He said the results could help increase the global evidence base on the long-term impacts of weight loss medicines and inform the UK's care pathway approach to the treatment of obesity.