Labours new injection... was I dreaming?

[silverfoxcc]

Having deided to have a snooze last night before going to bed...Yes i know....lol
I was half awake and in that twilight phase when the news was on and i thought i saw some Labour politician with a type
of hypodermic saying they intend to inject obese people to make them more available for work as it reduces their weight!

Surely i am holding the wrong end of the stick, and it will not be mandatory but for those people who want to lose weight and get a job?

[Dingu]

silverfoxcc said:

Surely i am holding the wrong end of the stick, and it will not be mandatory but for those people who want to lose weight and get a job?

I can scarcely believe it needs saying, but yes.

[P-Jay]

Yes, it's a proposed trial of 250k people who are a complete unit and professional giro cashers, it's not compulsory.

To be honest, I'm not against it. Obesity and associated conditions cost the NHS £20bn+ a year. The weight loss jabs are seen as a cure for the obesity epidemic are pretty expensive at the moment, but prices will tumble if it can help people and save money in the long run it seems like a good idea.

Obvs we could do the hard way, change food standards to stop producers selling crap etc but we haven't managed it yet.

[Dingu]

P-Jay said:

Obvs we could do the hard way, change food standards to stop producers selling crap etc but we haven't managed it yet.

Could we? You can overeat on perfectly healthy foods. Conversely you can eat things which are bad for you in moderation and not gain weight.

[andy43]

Energy Ed is also considering treadmills with generators.

[otolith]

There are a lot of people in work paying a couple of hundred quid a month for those drugs on private prescription, not sure how they will feel about this.

[Type R Tom]

Getting people to walk and cycle would also work. Creating the best walking, cycling, and public transport infrastructure to get people moving more would cost a tiny fraction of what the NHS spends on obesity-based issues.

[andy43]

otolith said:

There are a lot of people in work paying a couple of hundred quid a month for those drugs on private prescription, not sure how they will feel about this.

Depressed and hungry?

[ARHarh]

No need for the injection, just stop their benefits. They won't be able to buy food then and will soon loose weight.

Crazy idea that will never work, those who choose not to work will not change that decision because they are now thin. Don't try to tell me its because they are so overweight they can't work, its easy to loose weight if you really want to work and weight is stopping you working.

[AB]

A friend of mine has been using 'Numan' for about a year and lost 5 stone, assume that's a similar thing. £250 a month though!

[Drumroll]

Type R Tom said:

Getting people to walk and cycle would also work. Creating the best walking, cycling, and public transport infrastructure to get people moving more would cost a tiny fraction of what the NHS spends on obesity-based issues.

Would it? I am seeing massive amounts of money being spent on cycleways and most seem to get little use.

How does a better public transportation structure get people more active? If you increase public transport doesn't it actually mean people are even less likely to walk or cycle?

[BoRED S2upid]

Type R Tom said:

Getting people to walk and cycle would also work. Creating the best walking, cycling, and public transport infrastructure to get people moving more would cost a tiny fraction of what the NHS spends on obesity-based issues.

That’s hard work though just jab them in the arm instead.

[grumbledoak]

Oh joy. We pay £250 each per month per fatso, they don't learn anything or change their behaviour, and as soon as they stop taking the meds they put it all back on and then some.

Fantastic policy.

[Dingu]

otolith said:

There are a lot of people in work paying a couple of hundred quid a month for those drugs on private prescription, not sure how they will feel about this.

As opposed to the same/more money to treat the effects of obesity?

Treating the root cause and doing something preventative is almost always cheaper than treating the eventual outcome.

This short term thinking is why the country is so fked.

[ATG]

Type R Tom said:

Getting people to walk and cycle would also work. Creating the best walking, cycling, and public transport infrastructure to get people moving more would cost a tiny fraction of what the NHS spends on obesity-based issues.

Please show your working ...

[Chamon_Lee]

P-Jay said:

Yes, it's a proposed trial of 250k people who are a complete unit and professional giro cashers, it's not compulsory.

To be honest, I'm not against it. Obesity and associated conditions cost the NHS £20bn+ a year. The weight loss jabs are seen as a cure for the obesity epidemic are pretty expensive at the moment, but prices will tumble if it can help people and save money in the long run it seems like a good idea.

Obvs we could do the hard way, change food standards to stop producers selling crap etc but we haven't managed it yet.

Surely common sense dictates to do a root cause analysis which would mean it doesn't take a rocket scientist to tell us as you mentioned companies selling utter trash foods stop filling up the isles of supermarkets?

So what exactly is the governments purpose here? allow companies to continue to make money selling st and then allow companies to make pharma pills to try and cure it all while tax payers foot the bill.

Seems like the greatest fraud to exist of the current era.

[otolith]

Dingu said:

otolith said:

There are a lot of people in work paying a couple of hundred quid a month for those drugs on private prescription, not sure how they will feel about this.

As opposed to the same/more money to treat the effects of obesity?

Treating the root cause and doing something preventative is almost always cheaper than treating the eventual outcome.

This short term thinking is why the country is so fked.

I think they might reasonably ask "If they are going to get it free of charge, why do I have to pay for it privately?"

[ATG]

Dingu said:

otolith said:

There are a lot of people in work paying a couple of hundred quid a month for those drugs on private prescription, not sure how they will feel about this.

As opposed to the same/more money to treat the effects of obesity?

Treating the root cause and doing something preventative is almost always cheaper than treating the eventual outcome.

This short term thinking is why the country is so fked.

The eventual eventual outcome is death, and that's usually pretty inexpensive. Perhaps a choice of injection or cake maintains patient choice while also reducing the overall burden on the tax payer?

[otolith]

There is an increasing body of evidence, by the way, that the use of GLP-1 agonists has benefits beyond the treatment of diabetes and obesity. Wouldn't be surprised if ten years from now they are being handed out like statins.

[Dingu]

otolith said:

Dingu said:

otolith said:

There are a lot of people in work paying a couple of hundred quid a month for those drugs on private prescription, not sure how they will feel about this.

As opposed to the same/more money to treat the effects of obesity?

Treating the root cause and doing something preventative is almost always cheaper than treating the eventual outcome.

This short term thinking is why the country is so fked.

I think they might reasonably ask "If they are going to get it free of charge, why do I have to pay for it privately?"

They might also be the sort of person going through life looking for reasons to be miserable and complain. So doing this or not won’t make any difference, they’ll find another reason to be miserable.

It’s a trial, and if it ends up reducing the benefit bill then it could reduce overall expenditure and therefore help everyone. But no, someone is getting something so we can’t do it.