By Matthew Lesh
What if there was already a proven way to reduce obesity and improve health without government intervention? There is and it’s called Ozempic, says Matt Lesh
A new study out this week claims that rising work absenteeism is being driven by obesity. There are reasons to doubt these findings. Official data from the Office for National Statistics finds that the primary reason 53 per cent of people are registered economically inactive is mental health, namely, anxiety, depression or a condition like ADHD.
This did not prevent the usual suspects from using the study to demand a crackdown on fatty Britain. These activists want unhealthy food — and in particular so-called ‘ultra-processed foods’ — to be treated like tobacco. This would mean imposing new taxes and regulations, including harsh controls on advertising and packaging.
This will sound like a sensible policy agenda to many. Obesity not only makes people less productive but also unhappier with their lives. Despite what the ‘fat positivity’ movement claims, few things are worse for your health than being overweight. Obese people are at a significantly higher risk of developing a range of serious conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancers, and musculoskeletal disorders.
Eating healthy food is also difficult. Our bodies evolved in an era of scarcity. When food is available, our instinct was to eat to ensure we could survive the next winter. Now we are rich. There is plentiful, tasty, calorie-dense food available at our fingertips. Many people — myself included — find ice cream, chocolates, and crisps immensely enjoyable. We cannot stop ourselves from consuming more than we really should.
But calls for interventionist policies like sin taxes and regulation are wide of the mark. This approach fails to change our biological instincts and are largely ineffective. Take sugary soft drink taxes. They may reduce purchases, but there is a real lack of evidence that this impacts overall obesity rates. There is inevitably a substitution effect towards other sugar-rich foods. Or take the proposed advertising ban. The government’s own research found it would reduce children’s calorie intake by just 2.8 per day. Hardly groundbreaking.
But what if I told you about a solution proven in randomised controlled trials to reduce body weight by 15 per cent to 20 per cent? What if I told you that in response food manufacturers are quivering at the prospect of lost sales and profits? What if you found out that this solution has been found to have other benefits, including improved heart health, lower blood sugar levels, and reduced insulation resilience?
It’s not science fiction. It already exists. I am, of course, talking about Ozempic (also known as Wegovy) and Mounjaro. Human ingenuity has already discovered the solution to the obesity crisis. These miracle drugs completely change people’s habits towards food in an overwhelmingly positive way.
Critics worry these weight-loss medications distract from other important changes. But ask yourself what is likely to be more effective: changing the entire food system or giving people access to proven, safe medication? Put differently, would you deny people cancer drugs because the first priority should be addressing environmental factors like air pollution?
Others worry about the cost, which is clearly a barrier for now, but forget that prices will decrease over time as similar drugs to Ozempic enter the market. These medications are also becoming available on the NHS and could prove much less expressive than treating disease associated with obesity.
Then there are the Puritans, who see medication as some sort of cheat and just want fat people to work harder — as if nobody had tried that before.
Obesity could soon become a thing of the long-forgotten past. But it will mean adopting solutions that actually work. Embracing human ingenuity will mean millions living happier, healthier, and longer lives.
Matthew Lesh is the Director of Public Policy and Communications at the Institute of Economic Affairs
