The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has called on the government to utilise the skills of community pharmacy to tackle the UK’s obesity crisis.
In 2022 to 2023, 64 per cent of adults aged 18 years and over in England were estimated to be overweight or living with obesity.
In the UK, an estimated 1.5 million people are currently using weight loss drugs, with a significant portion of these medications prescribed through specialist services or private prescriptions.
Demand for these drugs is reportedly high and growing, with some sources suggesting that obesity rates may start to decline due to the increased use of weight loss injections.
“We know that although medication can be effective in speeding up weight loss in some people, it is not a silver bullet and patients need to make long term lifestyle changes to make their weight loss sustainable,” said Henry Gregg, Chief Executive of the NPA.
“Pharmacies take their responsibilities seriously to provide full wrap around support to patients trying to achieve a healthy weight.”
Last week, polling commissioned by the NPA found that 21 per cent of the public agreed that they had attempted to access weight loss treatments in the last year through an online or in person pharmacy, rising to 35 per cent of 16–34-year-olds. This is compared to only 7 per cent of those over 55.
An estimated 41 per cent agreed that they would access weight loss treatments on the NHS if it was made available to them, rising to 64 per cent of 25–34-year-olds. This is despite many of these patients being unlikely to be clinically eligible.
The findings highlight the booming demand for private and NHS weight loss services.
However, the NPA warned that many patients interested in using the medication are not eligible to do so.
“Obesity is one of the biggest health challenges of our generation,” said Gregg.
“The current NHS roll out of weight loss treatment is very small, with only a handful of patients receiving it and it will continue to be the case that the vast majority of eligible patients will be seen by their pharmacy.
“If the government want to scale up the NHS roll out to help more patients, they should use the massive skills and expertise of pharmacies and fund them to reach millions more of those most in need of help.”
