MPs to look at weight-loss drugs and other measures to end obesity in UK

Prevention and treatment of obesity will be the focus of a new inquiry by Parliament’s Health and Social Care Committee.

In the new inquiry, announced on Thursday (17 July), a cross-party group of MPs will investigate what public health interventions have been the most effective at reducing obesity and the consumption of less healthy foods, examining why existing policies relating to food and diet have seemingly not succeeded in reducing rates of obesity.

The inquiry will explore what more the Government and food industry should do to address social inequalities and deliver on the Government’s Food Strategy aim of improving access to affordable, healthy food.

As well as prevention, the Committee’s inquiry will also turn its attention to treatment offered to those who are overweight or living with obesity. MPs will delve into the challenges and opportunities that weight loss medications like Wegovy and Mounjaro present to the NHS and to individuals.

While it has been estimated that 1.5million people in the UK are using weight management medications, the Government’s 10 Year Health Plan stated that there ‘is a risk that these medications become the preserve of those who can afford them, despite those without the financial means having higher need’.

The Health and Social Care Committee’s inquiry will examine whether weight loss injections are cost-effective to the NHS and how they compare on this front to other treatments

“Obesity and excess weight are at seriously high levels across the population, impacting individuals’ quality of life, their health and their work, and putting demands on the NHS and social care.

“The other side of the coin is the problem of unhealthy diets and poor nutrition. Our committee wants to drill down into these two issues,” said Acting Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, Paulette Hamilton.

She noted that the inquiry will examine both prevention and treatment, including the new possibilities and challenges presented by weight management medications.

“On diet and nutrition, we want to learn the facts around people’s ability to access and afford nutritious food. The government has said it will be ‘launching a moonshot to end the obesity epidemic’.

“Our inquiry will examine what this means in practice and explore what sort of initiatives the government should be backing,” she said.

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