SIR KEIR STARMER has suggested weight-loss jabs could boost the economy by getting people back into work.

On BBC Breakfast yesterday the Prime Minister said that the jabs “will be very helpful to people who want to lose weight, need to lose weight [and] very important for the economy so people can get back into work,” adding that it could reduce pressure on the NHS. 

Officials have announced plans to trial the impact of the jabs on worklessness, in which they will examine Mounjaro, a glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist, over five years.

The NHS says a quarter of a million people are due to receive the jab over the next three years.

But Priya Tew, specialist dietitian from Dietitian UK and BDA spokeswoman, emphasised the need for a “multifaceted approach” and said it is short-sighted to suggest a weight-loss drug is the answer. 

She flagged concerns about suggestions that “because you are a certain size or body shape, it means that, firstly, something needs to be done about it and, secondly, your economic value is not as important as somebody else.” 

Ms Tew said the injections are not meant to be a “magic cure” but part of a behavioural modification approach in which patients are given support in making changes to diet and lifestyle. 

She highlighted the importance of access to green spaces, fresh food, childcare and accessible information such as easy meal preparation to support lasting changes.