Should unemployed obese people get weight loss jabs? Yahoo readers have their say

Yahoo UK's poll of the week lets you vote and indicate your strength of feeling on one of the week's hot topics. After the poll closes, we'll publish and analyse the results each Friday, giving readers the chance to see how polarising a topic has become and if their view chimes with other Yahoo UK readers.

Health secretary Wes Streeting said this week that weight loss jabs could be rolled out to unemployed people living with obesity in order to "help them get back to work".

The UK government announced a £279 million investment from Lilly, the world's largest pharmaceutical company. The collaboration includes real-world trials that will examine whether weight loss jabs can reduce unemployment.

Obesity-related sickness leads to people taking four extra sick days a year, Streeting said, and leaving many others unable to work altogether.

"The long-term benefits of these drugs could be monumental in our approach to tackling obesity," he wrote. "For many people, these weight loss jabs will be life-changing, help them get back to work, and ease the demands on our NHS."

Yahoo News UK asked our readers whether it is appropriate to give unemployed people living with obesity weight loss jabs, here are the results:

Our poll asked: 'Is it appropriate to give weight loss drugs to unemployed obese people?'

It received almost 2,500 votes and showed 73% of Yahoo readers think it is very inappropriate to give weight loss drugs to obese people who aren't in work.

Only 20.4% of voters said they think it is very appropriate to do so, with just 5% saying they were undecided about the issue.

Yahoo News UK readers were also asked: On a scale of 1 to 10, how concerned are you about the long term use of weight loss drugs?

This poll received 1,227 votes with the most common level of concern being 10 out of 10, indicating many readers were very worried about the long-term effects of weight loss drugs.

The average strength-of-feeling rating of all the votes was 7.05.

What Yahoo readers said:

'This should not be sold as a quick fix': Yes, in carefully selected cases. Obesity causes many illnesses and chronic conditions, costing the NHS billions. This should not be sold as a 'quick fix'. Those selected need to understand that it is with a view to re educating themselves about healthy eating and life style which will give them focus in finding work, reducing NHS costs in time and money. The emphasis is on restoring hope and self respect as they become useful, productive members of society. (Anne W, Chessington)

'It is often a chicken and egg situation': Simple answer no. As a diabetic who has struggled to get their medication because it has been prescribed to people for weight loss I firmly believe that the first people to receive these jabs are those who may need to lose weight for medical reasons. It is often a chicken and egg situation for people - they have a debilitating illness, struggle with weight as a result then need surgery but can’t get it due to weight gain. These are the ones who should be prioritised as most of these would welcome going back to work if they weren’t in constant pain. Most of the western world has an obesity problem because let’s be honest getting a takeaway or having a ready meal is just convenient. (Cat M, Cumbria)

'Giving an injection to help curb appetite won’t help': A lot of the overeating leading to obesity is emotional rather than hunger related. Laziness around meal preparation and the accessibility of ready meals and sugary snacks adds to the problem. Once the weight starts going on it becomes harder to take exercise. Giving an injection to help curb appetite won’t help. I am talking from experience. (Sheila R, York)

'Better to give vouchers for healthy food and cookery lessons': Surely it would be better to give vouchers to only be spent on healthy food (fruit and veg) and cookery lessons. How do the powers that be know if getting the jabs will get them back to work? (Vlad T, Edinburgh)

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