Could weight loss pills solve Britain's unemployment problem?

The UK will investigate whether using a weight-loss drug can get people back to work.

British Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced last month that US drugmaker Eli Lilly would begin a five-year trial in Greater Manchester to test whether the company’s weight-loss drug could curb Britain’s unemployment crisis.

The announcement comes a day after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted a summit attended by Eli Lilly to encourage investment in the UK.

So what do weight loss pills have to do with unemployment and how will this work?

What is the UK weight loss drug trial?

On 14 October, Starmer hosted a summit to promote investment in the UK. Among the participants was David Ricks, chairman of US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, which announced a £279 million ($365.4 million) investment in the UK. No further details on how this money will be spent have been disclosed.

Eli Lilly is the manufacturer of Mounjaro and Zepbound weight loss pills.

Around 3,000 Greater Manchester residents will take part in the study, which aims to monitor the long-term effects of weight loss drugs. Further details of the research are not yet known.

According to the 2021 official health survey, around 25.9 per cent of adults in the UK are obese and 37.9 per cent are overweight. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), people with a body mass index (BMI) over 25 are considered overweight, and those with a BMI over 30 are considered obese.

Obesity-related health problems cost the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) 11 billion pounds ($14 billion) each year, UK Health Secretary Streeting said when announcing the Eli Lily study.

What is the unemployment rate in England?

According to the House of Commons Library, the UK parliament’s research archive, the unemployment rate in the UK as of August 2024 was 4 percent among those over 16 who were actively looking for work.

The unemployment rate fell compared to last year, and 75 percent of people aged 16-64 were employed.

What do weight loss pills have to do with unemployment?

There is also economic inactivity in the UK; This means that people do not have jobs and are not actively looking for work. According to the UK Labor Market Statistics report published on 15 October, there were 9.26 million people aged 16 to 64 in the UK who were economically inactive. The term “economically inactive” includes both people over the age of 16 who are actively looking for work and people who are not looking for work or are unable to work. The latter include students, retirees and people caring for others.

Between June and August 2024, 30 percent of people said they were economically inactive due to a long-term illness, and 27 percent said it was because they were students. These figures are almost at the same level as the previous year.

The UK Labor Market Statistics report does not detail whether obesity or diabetes are specific health problems that affect economic inactivity.

Adam Green, chief executive of unemployment charity Yes Manchester, told the BBC that obesity was not the main reason why some people were struggling to find work.

“This is a complex field and there is only so much observational data,” Philip Newland-Jones, consultant pharmacist in diabetes and endocrinology at University Hospital Southampton in the UK, told Al Jazeera.

“Research shows that those who are unemployed are more likely to be obese, and the longer you are unemployed the more likely you are to become obese. “There’s no definitive causal link to this and there’s no absolutely strong evidence that obesity causes unemployment or continues to hinder employment,” Newland-Jones said.

He added that he wasn’t aware of any studies that suggested giving people weight-loss drugs resulted in getting people back to work. “I would guess that this is the data that the UK government will try to generate with these trials, in the hope that the cost of the drugs will be covered by increased productivity or increased GDP,” he said.

How do weight loss drugs work?

Weight loss medications work mainly by suppressing appetite.

Denmark-based Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Ozempic are semiglutide injections, while Mounjaro and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound are tirzepatide injections. These are the four main weight loss medications used worldwide. Ozempic is mainly used in the United States, Japan, European Union, Canada and Australia; Mounjaro is prescribed in the US, UK, EU and Australia. These are prescription-only drugs, but they can also be purchased on the gray market on the Internet.

Both semiglutides and tirzepatites suppress appetite by mimicking a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1).

Both types of medication are self-administered once a week with a prefilled pen. They can be injected into the upper arm, thigh, or stomach.

GLP-1 is a gut hormone that the body naturally secretes after eating. The job of GLP-1 is to send a signal to the brain that the stomach is full.

Tirzepatides work with a second hormone in addition to GLP-1, called gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP). It is naturally released by cells in the intestine and is responsible for regulating blood sugar.

How much weight can you lose by taking these medications?

“People using the highest dose of Mounjaro (15 milligrams per week) lost 21 percent of their body weight,” Dr Cecilia Low Wang, an expert in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism, said in an article published by United. The state-based University of Colorado health system, UCHealth.

Dr Wang also quoted Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials as saying that people who use tirzepatide, like Mounjaro, lose more weight on average than those who use semiglutide.

The FDA approved Mounjaro and Ozempic for use by patients with diabetes in 2022 and 2017, respectively, but has not yet done so specifically for weight loss. Wegovy and Zepbound were approved for weight loss in 2021 and 2023, respectively.

Will the weight loss be permanent if you take these medications?

No. Dr Low Wang, quoted in the UCHealth article, explained: “Just like Ozempic and Wegovy, if you lose weight with Mounjaro, you will likely need to continue taking the drug indefinitely to maintain your weight.”

US-based Fortune magazine reported in July this year that many doctors said that clinical trials showed that when people stopped using weight-loss drugs, they regained all the weight they lost in about a year.

Do weight loss medications have side effects?

Yes, probably.

Common side effects of Mounjaro include nausea, diarrhea, decreased appetite, vomiting, constipation, indigestion, and stomach pain, as listed on the drug’s website.

The website adds that in people with kidney problems, diarrhea and vomiting can cause dehydration, which can make kidney problems worse. He emphasizes the importance of staying hydrated.

The website contains an additional set of security warnings. The safety warning pop-up says “Mounjaro may cause tumors in the thyroid, including thyroid cancer,” and warns those using the drug to watch for possible symptoms.

Additionally, serious side effects may include inflammation of the pancreas or pancreatitis, low blood sugar, serious allergic reactions, serious stomach problems, changes in vision, and gallbladder problems.