Weight loss jabs for unemployed not dystopian, says Wes Streeting - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk
The government is looking into whether weight-loss drugs can help get more people back to work.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/18923980

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has dismissed suggestions that plans to provide weight loss jabs to unemployed people with obesity are “dystopian”.

The UK government is partnering with pharmaceutical giant Lilly who are running a five-year trial in Greater Manchester to test if the weight-loss drug Mounjaro can help get more people back to work and prevent obesity-related diseases to ease the strain on the NHS in England.

The announcement prompted a backlash, with accusations that the government was stigmatising unemployed individuals and reducing people to their economic value.

Speaking on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Streeting said the jabs were part of a broader healthcare plan, adding that he was “not interested in some dystopian future where I involuntarily jab unemployed people who are overweight”.

    • T156@lemmy.worldEnglish
      45·
      12 days ago

      But this isn’t mood altering substances, it’s an obsesity drug.

      Like antibiotics, it should be fine as long as it isn’t forced on people.

      • Krauerking@lemy.lol
        32·
        12 days ago

        Receptors for GLP-1 are found in the pancreas, the gut and several regions of the brain involved in mood regulation, he said.

        “They can affect the release and activity of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin, which play a crucial role in emotional well-being,” Arillotta added. “For these reasons, GLP-1 RAs are thought to have antidepressant effects.” Dopamine and serotonin are mood-enhancing chemicals that are often called the “feel-good” hormones.1

        No we really don’t know that. Some have even bragged about it being useful for treating addiction in other places like gambling. It’s all just a crap shoot of people hoping this is a miracle drug to fix everything easily.