14 October 2024, 22:44 | Updated: 14 October 2024, 22:46
Obese unemployed people will be given weight-loss injections to help them get back into work, the Health Secretary has said.
Wes Streeting said that sickness caused by obesity was “holding back our economy”, as he unveiled a £279 million investment from the world’s biggest pharmaceutical company.
Mr Streeting said that the commitment by Lilly would include the first real-world trial of the effect of weight-loss jabs on unemployment rates, productivity and reliance on healthcare.
As many as 3,000 obese patients, including a mixture of people with and without jobs, as well as some on sick leave, will take part in a five-year study to investigate if the jabs increase productivity and bring people back to work.
Writing in the Telegraph, the Health Secretary …