The government is trialling weight loss jabs to get obese and out-of-work people back to work.

This has raised some interesting statistics about the health and wellbeing of the nation:

– The majority of adults in the UK are overweight or obese.

– This increases their risk of chronic illness.

– Dealing with those illnesses costs the health service £11 billion per year.

Whilst it’s good that Kier Starmer is committed to reducing pressure on the health service, and, there’s been some positive results with jabs, we need to get closer to the root cause of the issue and provide supporting services to jab patients so that sustainable results can be achieved economically. Short term injection use with temporary weight management advice doesn’t give us that.

Getting people back to work is an excellent objective. The long-term positive health and wellbeing benefits of being in work with a sense of purpose are undeniable. But we need to be careful that an injection isn’t seen as the ‘silver bullet’ fix.

The jab suppresses satiety – the feeling of being full.  As such it only addresses a small element of health and wellness – calorie intake. The government has recognised this. Injections will only be available as part of a weight management programme.  However, the existing services don’t offer a 1-to-1 approach for all.

This is KEY. A bespoke & holistic approach for the target patient is a must to ensure the plan of action provides consideration for all dimensions of health to maximise success, including:

– Health history & status

– Nutrition needs, not just calorie reduction

– Lifestyle/ability to fit exercise into their schedule

– Stress status

– Sleep status

– Mental health status

The cost of the jab ranges from £130-£270 per month, depending on the brand and dose. They can be bought privately.

That’s easily comparable to the cost of a health coach, whether working directly with a private health coach, or, the health service working with their local health coaching community.  Health coaches offer time to address the individual’s WHOLE HEALTH needs without prescribed drugs or injections, unless a referral is deemed necessary.

The UKIHCA (https://www.ukihca.com/home) are the professional body for health coaching – the profession which provides this type of multi-dimensional 1-to-1 service already.  Their main mission is to make health coaching services available in the workplace, in education, in our communities, and, in our health service.  They are lobbying the government on this, and my hope is that health coaching services can be incorporated into the wider plans to reduce pressure on our health services in a complementary, sustainable and economic manner. Not just in-and-around weight loss and getting back to work, but for the wider improvement of our health and wellbeing, and addressing our chronic disease crisis.

Notes:

Statistics from the BBC. Cost data from Which? Supporting info from NHS England and NHS Scotland.