The availability of weight loss drugs on the NHS doesn’t mean people can give up healthy lifestyles, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has warned.
Experts believe drugs like Ozempic will play an important role in tackling the UK’s obesity crisis.
But Mr Sweeting told the Daily Telegraph it was in “everyone’s interest to play their part” and avoid overloading the health system.
“We don’t want to encourage a dependency culture where people think it’s OK not to bother eating healthily or exercising, because the NHS will pick up the tab and pay for their weight loss jab,” he said.
“People in this country have the right to expect top quality healthcare, but also a responsibility to look after their own health, so we’ve got to get the balance right.”
I climb to keep fit and because it’s really fun. It’s a moderately dangerous activity, but no one ever says I should consider the pressures on the NHS before I go and maybe fall off a boulder problem and break my ankle or whatever. I think this is just standard fatphobic finger-wagging, to be honest.
I once read that sponsored skydives for NHS related charities end up (in total) costing the NHS more than they raise, because of how often people get injured in them…
The benefit of climbing meaning you maintain a level of physical fitness definitely outweighs the risk of you breaking a bone, or dying.
The issue with obesity is that it dramatically increases the risks of loads of other illnesses, many of which kill you very slowly.