Chief medical officer Chris Whitty has warned the government against a mass shift to the use of weight-loss drugs to tackle the obesity crisis, saying there is a lack of long-term evidence over their safety and effectiveness.
Whitty said the lack of data about the booming GLP-1 category of drugs meant they should only be prioritised as a solution for people with morbid obesity problems, rather than for mass use by people who are overweight.
Speaking at the IGD’s Future of the UK Food System conference in London today, the public health boss urged ministers to prioritise localised interventions, including mandatory targets, in areas with the highest social deprivation.
Health secretary Wes Streeting has said he plans to use weight-loss drugs as a key measure of the government’s 10-year NHS plan.
However, in a sign of a divide between Streeting and his chief medial adviser, Whitty urged “caution” for their rollout.
Whitty said: “The good news is that these drugs are clearly going to be a help for some people and for those at the highest end of the scale for risk the benefit and risk ratio supports their use.
“But at the lower end of the scale there is much less evidence to support it.”
Whitty urged the public and ministers to avoid a rush towards using medication as a cure for the obesity crisis.
“In 10 years time we will know a lot more about these drugs,” he said. “I think we need to be very careful for rushing at this as a solution.”
Focus on poverty
Whitty, who was appointed in March as a member of the government’s Food Strategy Advisory Board, said there was a much bigger link between poverty and obesity levels in the UK than most people realised.
Meanwhile, the CMO revealed he had called on ministers to concentrate the rollout of mandatory reporting on health in areas across the UK with the worst levels of obesity.
Whitty said the treatment of the issue by ministers to date meant hotspots of obesity were not receiving sufficient focus, describing the solutions that had been rolled out so far as being “achingly middle-class”.
“The problem is more localised than we realised,” he added. “There is a clear correlation between obesity, poverty and life outcomes.”
The CMO also said there was widespread support for further health interventions but urged the food industry to take its own action.
“Society and government need to take action on this point,” he said. “But it’s far better if the food and drink industry does this now – they’re in a better position to do so and to get change in place.”
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