Inside the BIGGEST 'real world' Mounjaro trial involving thousands of unemployed obese Britons... can 'King Kong' fat jabs help get them back to work?
A trial giving thousands of overweight Britons fat-busting jabs in a bid to get them back to work is now underway, officials have confirmed.
Around 2.5million Britons are now thought to be having weight-loss injections such as Mounjaro and Ozempic.
But in a first-of-its-kind 'real world' trial, up to 3,000 people in Greater Manchester will be prescribed Mounjaro by their GP to assess how effective the drug is on long-term health related issues like unemployment and how many sick days people take.
Previous studies have shown that the drug, dubbed the 'King Kong' of fat-busting jabs, can help people lose up to a quarter of their body weight over a year and a half.
Eli Lilly, which makes the drug, is supporting the five year trial as part of a £279million investment in collaboration with the Government.
When the study was announced last year, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said it was 'key to building a healthier society, healthier economy and making the NHS fit for the future'.
The Prime Minister also said at the time that weight-loss drugs could kickstart a major back-to-work drive and boost productivity, describing them as 'very important for the economy'.
Two in three Britons are classed as overweight or obese and NHS figures show people now weigh about a stone more than 30 years ago, costing the economy an estimated £100billion per year.
In a first-of-its-kind 'real world' trial, up to 3,000 people in Manchester will be prescribed Mounjaro by their GP to assess how effective the drug is on long-term health related issues
Of these, around 600,000 adults live with obesity in Greater Manchester, according to Mark Fisher, chief executive officer of the NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board.
The estimated cost of obesity in the region was more than £3bn in the cost of NHS treatment, social care and quality of life, a 2023 report by consultants Health Innovation Manchester, said.
Dr Imran Ghafoor is a GP Partner at Peterloo Medical Centre in Middleton which is involved in the trial, told the BBC that patients trust his practice as a 'familiar and accessible space'.
Research from the trial would help 'test solutions tailored to real lives', he added.
Currently, the powerful injections are only available on the health service for the very fattest patients and those with several linked diseases.
It means most users are forced to buy the drugs privately, at a cost of roughly £200 a month.
Under the NHS 10-year plan, published earlier this year in July, ministers will work with industry 'to test innovative models of delivering weight loss services and treatments to patients effectively and safely' in convenient locations.
This could include 'on the high street, or at any out-of-town shopping centre'.
Access to weight-loss jabs on the NHS will be expanded through new partnerships with drug makers, the report said.
But it did not specify when this would happen or if the current jab eligibility criteria would change.
Thousands of Britons take the drugs safely every week.
But like any medication, the jabs can cause side effects that vary in both frequency and severity.
Reported problems include nausea, constipation, diarrhoea, fatigue, stomach pain, headaches and dizziness.
The NHS currently warns patients to 'never take an anti-obesity medicine if it has not been prescribed to you'.
The UK's drugs watchdog, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) also notes that the benefits and risks of using these medicines for weight loss by individuals who do not have obesity or a related illness have not been studied.
Experts have long called for tighter restrictions on how weight loss drugs are prescribed.
Meanwhile, there are concerns that illegal knock-off versions of the drugs are being increasingly used — often advertised on social media.
Reports of fake slimming jabs in the UK first emerged in August 2023.
Experts have repeatedly said many won't even contain semaglutide or tirzepatide and are often just insulin pens which have been repackaged to look like the real thing, fooling customers.
When patients inject themselves, this insulin surge causes a rapid drop in blood sugar — which can potentially be fatal.
