Britain’s Prime Minister says weight-loss shots could be “very important for the economy and the National Health Service.” And they can be administered to obese unemployed people.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Tuesday that weight loss injections (the same ones used to treat diabetes) could help “help the economy and the national health service.” And they can even be administered to unemployed people suffering from obesity so they can return to the labor market, if they are unable to do so.
“I think these drugs can be very important for the economy and health,” said Keir Starmer, on the BBC Breakfast program broadcast this Tuesday. The Prime Minister stressed that semaglutide, marketed under names such as Ozempic or Wegovy, can be very “useful for people who want and need to lose weight.”
This is, as Keir Starmer explained, “very important for the economy, so that people can get back to work.” “And it’s really important for the NHS [serviço nacional de saúde britânico]because, as I say, we need more money for the NHS, but we have to think differently,” added the UK Prime Minister.
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The starting signal for this idea was given by the Minister of Health, Wes Anderson. In an opinion piece in the Telegraph newspaper published this Monday, the government official argued that obesity is a “major burden on the health service” and costs the National Health Service £11 billion a year (about €13 billion). . “It is holding back our economy. Obesity causes people to take an average of four more days of sick leavewhile many are even forced to stop working.”
In this sense, the Minister of Health believes that weight loss drugs can have “long-term benefits” for citizens and the United Kingdom’s “approach” to combating obesity. “For many people, these weight loss injections will change their lives, help them get back to work and reduce demand on the NHS,” concluded Wes Anderson.
Source: Observadora
