Dr Hilary Jones discusses UK's 'obesity epidemic' on GMB Another step in the fight against the obesity epidemic in the UK has been taken as a powerful appetite-suppressing jab was approved for weight loss on the NHS . Trials found that people who received the Mounjaro injection lost a fifth of their weight. Now a weekly injection will be offered to people considered dangerously obese.
It comes as the NHS approved the use of semaglutide, an appetite-suppressing drug, to aid weight loss under the brand name Wegovy last year. Ozempic, which uses the same active ingredient, is only available on the NHS for those living with type 2 diabetes - although it has been popular among celebrities as a weight loss aid. As part of the trial, volunteers given the highest dosage of Mounjaro lost 52 pounds after 16 months - or 22.
5 percent of their weight, while those given weaker shots dropped between 35 and 49lbs. READ MORE NHS 'critical incident' declared as five major hospitals hit by cyber attack Weight loss jab Mounjaro has been approved for use on the NHS (Image: Getty Images) Commenting on the study, Professor Sir Stephen O’Rahilly - director of the Medical Research Council Metabolic Diseases Unit at Cambridge University, said: “The results of this trial are very impressive. “Treatment of people with obesity with a weekly injection of tirzepatide [the non-brand name for Mounjaro] produced weight loss similar to that seen with weight loss surgery.
“Blood tests showed improvement.
