Health Secretary Wes Streeting (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

       Wes Streeting has hinted that new weight loss injections could be offered to the jobless to aid their return to work.

       The Health Secretary pointed out that "widening waistbands" are exerting pressure on the NHS.

       He suggested that the latest weight loss medications might be used to help individuals find employment and reduce healthcare costs. Ozempic and Mounjaro are currently making headlines as celebrities use the drugs to lose weight and doctors begin prescribing them to patients.

       In an opinion piece for the Telegraph newspaper, Mr Streeting made his proposal as the Government unveiled a ￡279 million investment from Lilly the leading global pharmaceutical firm coinciding with the Prime Minister's hosting of an international investment summit.

       Ozempic being administered (Image: Getty)

       Mr Streeting penned: "Our widening waistbands are also placing significant burden on our health service, costing the NHS ￡11 billion a year even more than smoking. And it's holding back our economy."

       He added: "Illness caused by obesity causes people to take an extra four sick days a year on average, while many others are forced out of work altogether."

       Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Ozempic said it was in fact wrong to describe the drug as a weight-loss medication, it being "intended for the treatment of adults with insufficiently controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus as an adjunct to diet and exercise" and that its use as a weight-management medication "would be considered ‘off-label’."

       As reported by the Telegraph, the summit disclosed plans for real-world trials to assess the effects of weight loss injections on unemployment.

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       A collaborative study between Health Innovation Manchester and Lilly will investigate if prescribing these drugs can decrease joblessness and impact on NHS services, with the trial set to occur in Greater Manchester.

       The Health Secretary shared an optimistic outlook on the future of NHS treatments, saying: "The reforms this Government will put in place will open the NHS up to work much more closely with life sciences, to develop new, more effective treatments, and put NHS patients at the front of the queue."

       Regarding groundbreaking weight-maintenance drugs, he added: "The long-term benefits of these drugs could be monumental in our approach to tackling obesity. For many people, these weight-loss jabs will be life-changing, help them get back to work, and ease the demands on our NHS."

       Despite this, Mr Streeting stressed the need for personal responsibility, insisting that while such steps are progressive, individuals must still prioritize "healthy living more seriously" as the "NHS can't be expected to always pick up the tab for unhealthy lifestyles".

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