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Found 94 results
  1. Content Article
    Obesity is now one of the biggest drivers of ill health in the UK’s working-age population, contributing to economic inactivity, increased NHS costs and deepening health inequality. Yet under the NHS’s current plan for the rollout of anti-obesity medications (AOMs), obesity rates will rise faster than the drugs can be delivered.  Anti-Obesity Medications: Faster, Broader Access Can Drive Health and Wealth in the UK explains why expanding access to these drugs could save the UK £52 billion by 2050. It's calling for a faster, broader strategy that includes: lowering eligibility to adults with a BMI of 27 or more making access digital-first delivering treatment more equitably through a national prevention programme. The opportunity is real – and so is the cost of delaying action on one of the UK’s most pressing health and economic challenges. Find out why the government needs to make AOMs available faster – and distribute them more broadly. 
  2. News Article
    Experts suggest that weight-loss jabs may require long-term use to achieve lasting benefits for both patients and the NHS. These drugs, marketed under names such as Mounjaro and Wegovy, function by curbing food cravings. Currently, obese patients can access these injections through NHS prescriptions, following referrals to specialist weight loss clinics typically based in hospitals. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of individuals are obtaining the medication privately through pharmacies. There have been warnings about buying potentially unsafe jabs online from unregulated retailers and potentially missing out on wraparound support. Experts said the jabs should not be seen as the first option in weight loss and should be used in conjunction with lifestyle changes, such as eating more healthily and increasing exercise. Professor Graham Easton, a GP who has been using weight loss jabs himself, said: “I think it’s a major issue about the proper funding and resourcing of not only the GPs in the surgeries but also the wraparound care we talked about. “I think the other issue is that so far, to my knowledge, the NHS and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence have talked about this being something you take for two years, and that’s probably related to data from research studies. “But as we discussed, this is likely to be a lifelong commitment if it is going to be worthwhile to the NHS. “There’s no point in most people taking it for a couple of years and then have the weight bouncing back. Read full story Source: The Independent, 8 June 2025
  3. News Article
    Weight loss drugs could at least double the risk of diabetic patients developing age-related macular degeneration, a large-scale study has found. Originally developed for diabetes patients, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) medicines have transformed how obesity is treated and there is growing evidence of wider health benefits. They help reduce blood sugar levels, slow digestion and reduce appetite. But a study by Canadian scientists published in Jama Ophthalmology has found that after six months of use GLP-1 RAs are associated with double the risk of older people with diabetes developing neovascular age-related macular degeneration compared with similar patients not taking the drugs. Academics at the University of Toronto examined medical data for more than 1 million Ontario residents with a diagnosis of diabetes and identified 46,334 patients with an average age of 66 who were prescribed GLP-1 RAs. Nearly all (97.5%) were taking semaglutide, while 2.5% were on lixisenatide. The study did not exclude any specific brand of drugs, but since Wegovy was only approved in Canada in November 2021, primarily for weight loss, it is likely the bulk of semaglutide users in the study were taking Ozempic, which is prescribed for diabetes. The study found that those who had been taking semaglutide or lixisenatide for at least six months had twice the risk of developing macular degeneration, compared with similar patients who were not taking the drugs. Patients who had been taking GLP-1 RAs for more than 30 months had more than three times the risk. Marko Popovic, a co-author of the study and physician in the department of ophthalmology and vision sciences at the University of Toronto, said: “GLP-1 receptor agonists appear to have multiple effects on the eye, and in the case of neovascular age-related macular degeneration, the overall impact may be harmful. “Based on our data, I would advise exercising particular caution when prescribing GLP-1 RAs to older [diabetic] patients or those with a history of stroke, as both groups were found to have an even higher risk of developing [the condition].” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 5 June 2025
  4. News Article
    Women using weight-loss jabs have been warned by the UK's medicines regulator that they must use effective contraception. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) says it is not known whether taking the medicines, such as Wegovy and Mounjaro, could harm an unborn baby. It also warns that weight-loss jabs may make the contraceptive pill less likely to work in those who are overweight or obese. There are concerns that the growing popularity of 'skinny jabs' means many women aren't using the drugs safely or getting the right advice. It's thought the contraceptive pill may not be absorbed properly due to common side-effects of the jabs such as vomiting and diarrhoea, and because they slow the emptying of the stomach. The MHRA says women should use contraception while taking GLP-1 medicines and for a certain period afterwards before trying to become pregnant - two months for Wegovy and Ozempic, and one month for Mounjaro. It also advises that those using Mounjaro and taking an oral contraceptive should also use a condom for four weeks after starting the drug, or switch to another method such as the coil or implant. Advice on contraception already appears in patient information leaflets that come with the medicines, but the MHRA has now issued its own guidance. Read full story Source: BBC News, 5 June 2025
  5. News Article
    Obese patients are being denied life-changing hip and knee replacements and left in pain in a bid to slash spiralling NHS costs, The Independent can reveal. One-third of NHS areas in England and multiple health boards in Wales are blocking patient access based on their body mass index (BMI). The move, deemed “unfair” and “discriminatory”, goes against guidance from the National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE), which states BMI shouldn’t be used to restrict patients’ access to joint replacement surgery. Patients are instead being told they must lose weight before they are eligible but waiting lists for NHS weight loss programmes have ballooned, with some people waiting up to three years to be seen while other services have shut, unable to cope with demand. The Royal College of Surgeons of England criticised the policy, saying that denying patients care could cost them their mobility and cause their health to deteriorate, while Tory peer and former health minister James Bethell called on the government to do more to tackle the obesity crisis and end the “misery for millions”. Read full story Source: The Independent, 31 May 2025
  6. News Article
    A woman was left fighting for her life after using a so-called “weight loss jab” sourced from a salon with police making three arrests. The woman suffered internal injuries earlier after using an injection earlier this month. She has since been discharged. Two other people also become unwell. North Yorkshire Police has launched an investigation into the supply of the injections as they arrested three women from the Selby area. Medical professionals in North Yorkshire and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued a warning against using weight loss medicines bought from private clinics or online. They warned that buying products from unregulated suppliers “significantly increases the risk of getting a product which is either falsified or not licensed for use in the UK and can pose a direct danger to health”. NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) Chief Pharmacy Officer, Laura Angus, said: “There has been a lot of attention in the media and on social media about these so-called ‘skinny jabs’, but as with any medicines bought outside of legitimate supply chains, the contents may not match the ingredients on the label. “If you use such products you could be putting your health at serious risk. “If you are thinking of buying a weight-loss medicine, please talk to a healthcare professional first. The only way to guarantee you receive a genuine weight-loss medicine is to obtain it from a legitimate pharmacy – including those trading online – using a prescription issued by a healthcare professional.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 25 May 2025
  7. News Article
    More than a dozen lawsuits have been filed on behalf of weight-loss drug users who claim that popular weight-loss medications such as Ozempic have caused a loss of vision. Patients from New York and New Jersey have claimed that they suffered non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy after taking drugs containing semaglutide — the active ingredient in Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus. The condition is rare and includes a loss of blood flow to the optic nerve that causes sudden vision loss in one eye. "People are just waking up and developing this [vision] condition,” Jason Goldstein, the lawyer representing the patients, told Newsday. “They wake and they totally can't see. A lot of them lose their peripheral vision. They could lose total vision. I have one client who lost it in both eyes." One of the patients, 57-year-old Edward Fanelli, told the newspaper, "If it was on the label, I definitely wouldn't have taken it,” referring to a warning of potential vision loss. Fanelli, a New Jersey resident, started taking Ozempic to treat his Type 2 diabetes in October 2022 and was diagnosed with the condition about eight months later. He could no longer do his job as a general contractor because of his vision loss. Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, has defended its popular medications. Lauren Browdy Weiner, a spokesperson for the drug maker, said the condition is not considered a possible adverse reaction for drugs. "Novo Nordisk is of the opinion that the benefit-risk profile of semaglutide remains unchanged,” she told Newsday. She continued: “Patient safety is a top priority for Novo Nordisk, and we take all reports about adverse events from use of our medicines very seriously. “This also relates to eye conditions, which are well-known comorbidities for people living with diabetes." Read full story Source: The Independent, 20 May 2025
  8. Content Article
    Stigma and misunderstanding of obesity are preventing people from receiving adequate treatment for the disease, which is increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), a new report from the World Heart Federation warns. The “World Heart Report 2025 – Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease” launched at the World Heart Summit, highlights the myths that hamper efforts to treat obesity. The problem is compounded by systemic healthcare gaps and is contributing to an economic burden worsened by the aggressive commercial practices of companies making cheap, processed food. The World Heart Report emphasises the trends that could send healthcare costs spiralling: As the rate of child obesity continues to increase, children with a high BMI are 40% more likely than their peers to suffer from CVD in midlife. The onset of obesity at younger ages can significantly reduce life expectancy while the psychological impacts of childhood obesity are profound – obesity is now the leading cause of bullying and discrimination in schools. CVD mortality attributable to high body mass index (BMI) is now highest among middle-income countries, with rates up to 67.5 deaths per 100,000 people in North Africa and the Middle East. Across the globe, obesity cases increased in nearly every country between 1990 to 2022 and global deaths from cardiovascular disease linked to high BMI have more than doubled. If current growth trends continue, data projects that almost 2 in 3 adults over 25 years of age could be overweight or obese by 2050. A shift in types of employment towards desk jobs is also associated with the development of obesity and CVD, as are long working hours and frequently working overtime. The report expresses concern that stigma experienced by people living with obesity is preventing them from receiving adequate treatment through guidance, lifestyle support and appropriate medication.
  9. Content Article
    Obesity was once devalued in most areas of health policy but has recently taken centre stage in policy circles. Unfortunately, this renewed focus is not due to recognition of the increasing prevalence or a sudden appreciation of this issue. Instead, obesity has been thrust into the limelight because of the emergence of tirzepatide and other dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonists for weight loss. Partha Kar, a consultant in diabetes and endocrinology, looks at the policy and the wider issues and challenges in rolling it out.
  10. News Article
    While millions of Americans have turned to popular weight loss drugs to shed pounds in recent years, taking them isn’t without some risks. Now, research led by the scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that tens of thousands of Americans have ended up in the emergency room after taking semaglutide: the active ingredient in GLP-1 drugs, including drugmaker Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy. The findings may be an indicator that more patient education is necessary when it comes to taking the drugs. “We found that it’s very infrequent that semaglutide leads to very serious adverse events that would land a patient in the hospital, but that they do occur,” Dr. Pieter Cohen, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, told Health. Using national surveillance data collected at dozens of hospitals, they estimated that semaglutide had been a contributing factor in nearly 25,000 emergency room visits from 2022 to 2023. More than 82 percent of those visits occurred in 2023, and the reason was usually gastrointestinal complications. Patients experienced nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, and diarrhoea. Some people also came into emergency rooms with allergic reactions and hypoglycemia, which is also known as low blood sugar. A handful of patients were diagnosed with pancreatitis and just four were diagnosed with biliary disease, which impacts the gallbladder. Read full story Source: The Independent, 1 May 2025
  11. News Article
    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has urged patients and doctors to check that their Ozempic prescriptions are legitimate after the agency seized several hundred units of fake versions of the diabetes drug in the US. Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic and the weight loss drug Wegovy, told the FDA on April 3 that counterfeit 1-milligram injections were being distributed outside its authorised supply chain in the US, the agency said in a news release. That means it likely entered the market through unofficial means, like unauthorised distributors or resellers. The agency said it’s aware of six adverse event reports linked to the lot — however, none of them appear to be associated with the counterfeit product. The agency and Novo Nordisk are testing the fake products to identify whether they’re safe. Genuine Ozempic can come with side effects, including stomach problems, so it's not clear whether the adverse events were caused by typical use. Read full story Source: NBC News, 14 April 2025
  12. News Article
    Illegal weight loss injections with dirty needles are being sold over social media and sent to people in Northern Ireland, a BBC investigation has found. BBC News NI made test purchases of syringes which claimed to contain semaglutide, a prescription-only drug, via Facebook from sellers based in England. When tested, the liquid was not semaglutide but did contain carnitine – a supplement that can be bought on the high street. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said it was working at an international level to root out criminal gangs selling illicit jabs manufactured in unhygienic labs. So-called skinny jabs are prescribed weight loss injections that work by making you feel fuller and less hungry. In Great Britain, semaglutide is available on the NHS as part of a weight management programme. However, in Northern Ireland it is not as there is no specialist weight management service, but it is available on private prescription. The Department of Health in Northern Ireland said people were putting themselves at serious risk buying from sellers on social media sites. Read full story Source: BBC News, 14 April 2025
  13. News Article
    The 10-Year Plan’s focus on the NHS risks sidelining the need for more effective action by national and local government on prevention, public health directors are warning. Association of Directors of Public Health president Greg Fell also told HSJ integrated care boards should “give us [councils] more grief” to take more action on prevention, rather than prioritising NHS upstream interventions that are not as effective as primary prevention. Mr Fell, director of public health at Sheffield City Council, said policy makers, NHS leaders and media too often looked to growing “preventive” treatments – such as weight management treatment, and weight-loss drugs – as the solution to problems like growing obesity and falling healthy life expectancy. He said the routine “framing” of prevention as something the NHS can solve with upstream treatments risked diverting from national and local government actions that could make a much bigger difference. Mr Fell said such interventions – and the high-profile GLP-1 drugs for obesity – may be worthwhile, but for overcoming the big health threats were “like emptying an ocean with a teaspoon or, being kind, a soup ladle”. He said: “The answer is way upstream of better treatment. [It] is effective regulation of junk food industries, and that isn’t primarily a Department of Health and Social Care thing, and certainly not an NHS problem. It’s a problem across the government.” Mr Fell said he expected the 10-Year Plan “would be pretty good” but means “the bandwidth has been taken by the NHS”. He called for government to outline its plan for preventive cross-government action as part of its health mission, beginning a “debate about the right mix of policies” across multiple government departments, local government, and others. “We haven’t yet seen much on the health mission,” the director of public health said, adding that it would need to cover tobacco control, alcohol, air quality, obesity, and “how does all that hang together across the totality of government?” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 31 March 2025
  14. News Article
    Millions of people in England and Wales with a long-term health condition should have their body mass index (BMI) checked regularly to prevent diabetes and heart disease, an NHS watchdog is recommending. Anyone found to be overweight should talk to sensitive, non-judgmental doctors and nurses about how they can lead a healthier life and stop their excess pounds causing them problems. The checks should lead to more people being referred to weight management services for help overhauling their diet and lifestyles or being prescribed weight loss drugs. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which advises the NHS on which treatments represent value for money, hopes its recommendations will help curb obesity. People with conditions such as diabetes, lung problems and heart failure should have their BMI and waist-to-height ratio assessed and recorded at least once a year, Nice said on Tuesday in draft guidance which is set to be published as a final document in August. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 18 March 2025
  15. News Article
    An NHS chief is calling for a crackdown on the online sale and prescription of popular weight-loss jabs like Ozempic and Mounjaro following warnings from charities about an increase in people with eating disorders accessing the drugs. One clinician even warned that patients with low body mass index (BMI) or a history of anorexia are able to get an online prescription for the injections by filling out a simple patient questionnaire and lying about their body weight. “I am seeing patients who have pushed themselves to rapid weight loss on these jabs, fasting and strenuous exercising,” said Dr Adarsh Dharendra, a consultant psychiatrist specialising in eating disorders at Priory Life Works in Surrey. “Yet patients can still access so many rogue pharmacy websites on mainstream as well as the dark web.” NHS national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis urged online pharmacies and private providers to “act responsibly” and ensure that the drugs are only prescribed to people with a medical need for them, such as those with diabetes. Last month, the pharmacy regulator tightened prescription rules to prevent weight-loss medications from being supplied “inappropriately”, after groups including the National Pharmacy Association warned some online suppliers were wrongly prescribing the drugs to people who had previously had eating disorders. Read full story Source: The Independent, 4 March 2025
  16. News Article
    More than half of adults and a third of children and young people worldwide will be overweight or obese by 2050, posing an “unparalleled threat” of early death, disease and enormous strain on healthcare systems, a report warns. Global failures in the response to the growing obesity crisis over the past three decades have led to a staggering increase in the numbers affected, according to the analysis published in the Lancet. There are now 2.11 billion adults aged 25 or above and 493 million children and young people aged five to 24 who are overweight or obese, the study shows. That is up from 731 million and 198 million respectively in 1990. Without urgent policy reform and action, the report says, more than half of those aged 25 or above worldwide (3.8 billion) and about a third of all children and young people (746 million) are forecast to be affected by 2050. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 3 March 2025
  17. Content Article
    Despite the well documented consequences of obesity during childhood and adolescence and future risks of excess body mass on non-communicable diseases in adulthood, coordinated global action on excess body mass in early life is still insufficient. Inconsistent measurement and reporting are a barrier to specific targets, resource allocation, and interventions. This article reports current estimates of overweight and obesity across childhood and adolescence, progress over time, and forecasts to inform specific actions. The authors found both overweight and obesity increased substantially in every world region between 1990 and 2021, suggesting that current approaches to curbing increases in overweight and obesity have failed a generation of children and adolescents. Beyond 2021, overweight during childhood and adolescence is forecast to stabilise due to further increases in the population who have obesity. Increases in obesity are expected to continue for all populations in all world regions. Because substantial change is forecasted to occur between 2022 and 2030, immediate actions are needed to address this public health crisis.
  18. News Article
    The number of people in the UK who have died after taking drugs for diabetes and weight loss has risen to 82, according to new figures from the country’s medicines regulator. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) revealed the death toll associated with the use of GLP-1RA receptor agonist drugs such as Mounjaro, Wegovy and Ozempic, up to 31 January. It included 22 deaths where the deceased person was using the drugs to lose weight - an increase from 10 in October as the drugs continue rise in popularity. The figures come from medical reports that record adverse incidents with medicines. However, usage may have been coincidental to a death rather than responsible for it, and an underlying illness unrelated to the drug could have also played a role. As of January, the MHRA had received reports of 18 deaths associated with tirzepatide, commercially known as Mounjaro; 29 deaths associated with semaglutide which has the brand names Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy; and 35 deaths associated with single-constituent liraglutide more commonly known as Saxenda or Victoza. These drugs have rapidly increased in popularity and regulators have scrambled to ensure they are handed out appropriately with the pharmacy watchdog tightening rules around how the drugs are prescribed. Read full story Source: The Independent, 24 February 2025
  19. News Article
    Life expectancy improvement is stalling across Europe with England experiencing the biggest slowdown. Experts are blaming this on an alarming mix of poor diet, mass inactivity and soaring obesity. The average annual growth in life expectancy across the continent fell from 0.23 years between 1990 and 2011 to 0.15 years between 2011 and 2019, according to research published in the Lancet Public Health journal. Of the 20 countries studied, every one apart from Norway saw life expectancy growth fall. England suffered the largest decline in life expectancy improvement, with a fall in average annual improvement of 0.18 years, from 0.25 between 1990 and 2011 to 0.07 between 2011 and 2019. The second slowdown of life expectancy growth in Europe was in Northern Ireland (reducing by 0.16 years), followed by Wales and Scotland (both falling by 0.15 years). Sarah Price, NHS England’s director of public health, said: “This important study reinforces that prevention is the cornerstone of a healthier society, and is exactly why it will be such a key part of the 10-year health plan which we are working with [the] government on. “The slowdown in life expectancy improvements, particularly due to cardiovascular disease and cancer, highlights the urgent need for stronger action on the root causes – poor diet, physical inactivity, and obesity.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 18 February 2025
  20. Content Article
    Decades of steady improvements in life expectancy in Europe slowed down from around 2011, well before the COVID-19 pandemic, for reasons which remain disputed. We aimed to assess how changes in risk factors and cause-specific death rates in different European countries related to changes in life expectancy in those countries before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The countries that best maintained improvements in life expectancy after 2011 (Norway, Iceland, Belgium, Denmark, and Sweden) did so through better maintenance of reductions in mortality from cardiovascular diseases and neoplasms, underpinned by decreased exposures to major risks, possibly mitigated by government policies. The continued improvements in life expectancy in these five countries during 2019–21 indicate that these countries were better prepared to withstand the COVID-19 pandemic. By contrast, countries with the greatest slowdown in life expectancy improvements after 2011 went on to have some of the largest decreases in life expectancy in 2019–21. These findings suggest that government policies that improve population health also build resilience to future shocks. Such policies include reducing population exposure to major upstream risks for cardiovascular diseases and neoplasms, such as harmful diets and low physical activity, tackling the commercial determinants of poor health, and ensuring access to affordable health services.
  21. News Article
    Nine investigations into weight loss jab adverts have been launched by the UK advertising regulator, which has raised concerns about the sheer volume of law-breaking involved in targeting the public with the drugs. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) told The Independent it now has nine high-priority investigations underway into whether ads in various online media are promoting prescription-only medicines (POMs) in breach of its rules and the law. Issues being probed include the use of unbranded injection or pen images, as well as claims such as “weight loss injections” and “Obesity Treatment Jab". The ASA described the number of investigations running in parallel on the same topic as “significant” and said that tackling the issue is a “priority”. Health secretary Wes Streeting has warned that the drugs “should not be taken to help get a body beautiful picture for Instagram” and must be treated as “serious medicines”. Drugs for weight management “should only be used by those tackling obesity,” he added. The pharmacy regulator has now tightened prescription rules to prevent weight-loss medicines from being supplied “inappropriately”, with people now no longer able to get the drugs after completing a simple online questionnaire. Groups including the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) had been calling for tougher rules after they learnt of people being wrongly prescribed the drugs without thorough checks, including some who already had a low body weight or who previously had eating disorders. Read full story Source: The Independent, 12 February 2025
  22. News Article
    Access to weight-loss jabs through online pharmacies is to be tightened up as part of a crackdown on inappropriate prescriptions – although some experts say even more must be done. Weight-loss injections such as Wegovy, which contains the drug semaglutide, and Mounjaro, which contains the drug tirzepatide, have boomed in popularity after trials showed they can help people lose significant amounts of weight, with many people seeking private prescriptions. However, concerns have been raised that the medications are being inappropriately prescribed through online pharmacies to people who do not meet the criteria for them. A Guardian investigation previously revealed some online pharmacies operating in the UK have approved and dispatched private prescriptions of the jabs to people of a healthy weight, as well as to those who have lied about their weight to meet criteria for a prescription. Now the general pharmaceutical council (GPhC), which regulates pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy premises in England, Scotland and Wales, has said it is tightening the rules. The changes mean pharmacies can no longer base decisions about online prescribing of weight-loss jabs – or other high-risk medications such as antimicrobials, laxatives and opioids – on the information provided in an online questionnaire alone, as some online pharmacies have done previously. Instead, such information must be verified independently. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 4 February 2025
  23. News Article
    The pharmaceutical watchdog has reprimanded Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk for failing to correctly disclose dozens of payments to the UK health sector as it sought to boost sales of its slimming drugs. The Danish drug giant – Europe’s most valuable listed company – systematically misreported, under-reported or did not disclose funding given over seven years to pharmacy firms, obesity charities, training providers, professional bodies and patient groups. Even after admitting to errors and conducting an internal review, it failed to accurately report its spending. The company has now been formally reprimanded by the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA), which said it had brought the industry into disrepute. Finding 48 breaches of the industry code, it said serious compliance failings – committed while Novo Nordisk was already the subject of an audit after previous breaches – “raised questions about the culture of the company and demonstrated poor governance and a lack of care”. It said that “by failing to publicly disclose payments, inaccurately reporting and misreporting payments to healthcare organisations and patient organisations over an extended period of time”, it “had brought discredit upon, and reduced confidence in, the pharmaceutical industry”. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 26 January 2025
  24. News Article
    Pharmacies are demanding tougher regulation of the online sale of weight-loss jabs amid a predicted new year’s boom in demand. The National Pharmacy Association (NPA), who represent independent community pharmacies, urged the regulator to require greater consultation with patients before dispensing weight-loss jabs and other high-risk medication online. Current rules, the NPA said, “leaves the door open for medicines to be supplied without appropriate patient consultation and access to patient records”. Nick Kaye, chair of the NPA, said: “Obesity is one of the biggest challenges facing our country and pharmacies want to play their part in helping patients lose and maintain a healthy weight. Weight-loss injections can play an important role in efforts to tackle obesity when prescribed as part of a carefully managed treatment programme for patients who are most in need of support. “However, we are concerned that the current regulations allow some patients to inappropriately access weight-loss injections without proper consultation or examination of historical medical records.” The NPA urged regulators to require that pharmacies conduct a full two-way consultation with patients before dispensing “higher-risk” medication such as weight-loss jabs. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 27 January 2025
  25. News Article
    Doctors are proposing a “radical overhaul” of how obesity is diagnosed worldwide amid concerns that a reliance on body mass index may be causing millions of people to be misdiagnosed. More than 1 billion people are thought to be living with the condition that for decades has been diagnosed by measuring a person’s BMI (their ratio of height to weight) to estimate the amount of excess body fat they have. However, there are fears BMI on its own is not a “reliable measure” of an individual’s health and may be resulting in both under- and over-diagnosis of obesity, with “negative consequences” for those affected and wider society. Dozens of the world’s leading experts across a broad range of medical specialisms – including endocrinology, internal medicine, surgery, biology, nutrition and public health – are now calling for a “reframing” of the condition that is causing major harm on every continent and costing countries billions. Prof Francesco Rubino, the chair of the Lancet commission which produced the report, said the changes would provide an opportunity for health systems globally to adopt a universal, clinically relevant definition of obesity and a more accurate method for its diagnosis. He said: “The question of whether obesity is a disease is flawed because it presumes an implausible all-or-nothing scenario where obesity is either always a disease or never a disease. Evidence, however, shows a more nuanced reality. Some individuals with obesity can maintain normal organs’ function and overall health, even long term, whereas others display signs and symptoms of severe illness here and now." Read full story Source: The Guardian, 14 January 2024

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