Wider access to weight-loss injections on the NHS could deliver significant economic gains by cutting sick days and easing the burden of obesity-related illness, new research suggests.
A study of 421 NHS patients using the latest generation of obesity drugs found the number of sick days taken fell by a third within three months of starting treatment. Combined sick leave dropped from 517 days in the three months before starting the jabs to 334 days after three months of use, according to data from Oviva, the UK’s largest provider of weight-loss support services.
After six months, 77 per cent of patients reported taking no sick leave at all — up from 63 per cent before starting treatment.
The findings highlight the potential economic impact of rolling out obesity injections more widely. Government figures show UK workers took 149 million sick days in 2024, down from a pandemic-era peak but still nearly 10 million more than pre-2020 levels.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has previously described obesity as a key drag on the workforce, with people living with obesity taking “an extra four sick days a year on average” and many leaving employment altogether.
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