Experts are buzzing about a groundbreaking new drug called Wegovy that claims to eradicate obesity through painless injections. As a psychiatrist with two decades of experience working with obese individuals, I am thoroughly impressed by Wegovy’s potential to transform lives. Patients and friends who have privately obtained prescriptions for Wegovy not only shed significant weight but also successfully maintained their results even after completing the treatment.
What truly astounds me is that Wegovy appears to catalyze a healthier lifestyle in individuals who enjoy the benefits of being slimmer and fitter. Simultaneously, their risk of life-threatening conditions associated with obesity, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and stroke, significantly diminishes. Wegovy, the Danish weight-loss jab, operates by simulating the hormones responsible for satiety. Essentially, Wegovy tricks our bodies into feeling full, which contributes to its effectiveness.
Now, you may wonder why, as a supporter of Wegovy, I am not advocating for its widespread availability through the NHS. The answer is simple economics. While I greatly admire Aneurin “Nye” Bevan, the postwar Labour minister who established the NHS with the intention of collective risk-pooling, he made a fundamental miscalculation. Bevan believed that as the nation’s health improved, the NHS’s expenses would decrease. However, he failed to anticipate the emergence of revolutionary medical advancements and the subsequent rise in costs. Additionally, the growing elderly population poses additional challenges.
The NHS relies on most individuals extracting less from the system than they contribute. Yet, what would happen if over 60% of the British population qualified for a treatment that could drastically improve their lives? The 2021 Health Survey revealed that 26% of adults are clinically obese, while an additional 38% are overweight. Administering this drug to such a significant portion of the adult population, costing between £73.25 and £175.80 per month per person, would ultimately bankrupt the NHS. Furthermore, some doctors suggest that patients may require lifelong use of Wegovy.
There are proponents who argue that providing free access to Wegovy could ultimately save the NHS money in the long run. The NHS currently spends approximately £6 billion annually on obesity-related treatments. However, with over 40 million eligible individuals potentially requiring a drug priced at up to £2,100 per year, a full-scale implementation would amount to a staggering £84 billion each year. This is more than half of the NHS’s entire annual budget for England, which stands at £160 billion.
Perhaps fortunately, the drug’s manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, has stated that global demand for Wegovy exceeds supply, creating constraints on the availability of the drug for the foreseeable future, somewhat relieving the burden on NHS resources. However, there is another compelling reason why I believe the NHS should not fund widespread Wegovy usage. By freely distributing Wegovy to millions of obese Britons, we fail to address the underlying issues that lead individuals to rely on food as a psychological crutch.
I firmly believe that medicalizing obesity, viewing it as a disease rather than a consequence of behavior, does not benefit anyone. While individuals struggling with obesity deserve compassion, we must recognize that obesity differs from conditions like cancer. Obesity is a condition that individuals have the power to address and change. Some in the medical field classify the behaviors associated with drug addiction and alcoholism as diseases, but I find this counterproductive. Labeling them as diseases eliminates personal responsibility, contradicting the psychological work I engage in daily with addicts and obese individuals to help them adopt healthier lifestyles.
People actively choose to consume excessive calories, except in rare cases. Refraining from acknowledging this denies individuals the ability to select a different path. This brings us to a more profound question concerning the role and limitations of the NHS. We have established that certain treatments, such as cosmetic procedures, should be privately funded, while the NHS rarely covers drugs that treat male hair loss. The discussion surrounding Wegovy follows in this vein. Notably, Germany’s state-funded healthcare system refuses to pay for the drug, deeming weight loss a personal matter.
I find merit in this decision. Patients who choose to pursue Wegovy through private means have made a deliberate decision to address their weight issues, embracing personal responsibility as a key driver for positive change. If millions of obese Britons receive Wegovy for free, they may overlook the underlying problems that led them to rely on food as a psychological crutch. My hope is that drugs like Wegovy can indeed yield significant and lasting benefits for those who genuinely need them.
Ultimately, the crucial lesson is that obesity itself is not the problem; rather, our attitude towards weight holds pathological elements. Blaming external factors or classifying obesity as a disease absolves individuals of personal responsibility, hindering progress. Let’s move away from harsh judgment and focus on empowering individuals to make informed choices about their health and weight-related concerns.
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