Weight loss jabs not enough to tackle obesity, leading medics warn
The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) called on the government to ensure equitable access to weight management services across the country and stressed the importance of wraparound support to prevent individuals from regaining weight after initial loss.
The RCP also called for action to tackle the nation's 'broken food system' to help people make healthier choices, including reducing 'aggressive' marketing and advertising of unhealthy food.
'Medication alone will not be enough to make meaningful and lasting progress on tackling obesity,' the College said in a new position statement, adding that the government must also tackle the 'social and environmental drivers of obesity'.
'Policies should reduce aggressive marketing and advertising of foods high in fat, salt, and sugar, while increasing the availability and affordability of healthy foods from an early age.
'We must tackle our broken food system and ensure it is easier for all to choose to eat healthily.'
Last week the Government pledged to 'launch a moonshot to end the obesity epidemic' in its 10 Year Plan for Health.
Now the College has urged ministers to set out details and timelines of how it will deliver this commitment.
It comes as the College released a poll of members and fellows, showing that four in five (80 per cent) of almost 19,000 doctors in the UK, surveyed by the RCP, said that the number of patients they see with obesity has increased over the last five years.
The RCP warned that treatment for other illnesses is less effective as a result of obesity.
Dr Kath McCullough, special adviser on obesity for the RCP, said: 'The narrative that obesity is about personal responsibility or that new medications will solve the problem is misleading.
'Obesity is a chronic illness shaped by a range of factors and influences – and it's on the rise.
'We are seeing daily how obesity causes and makes it harder to treat conditions, from diabetes and arthritis to heart disease and cancer.
' The NHS 10 Year Plan rightly sets out a suite of measures that can be used in the fight against obesity, but the armoury is far from complete.
'Weight loss drugs can be part of the solution for some patients, but our efforts must focus on preventing people developing obesity and overweight in the first place.
'We welcome the measures Government announced last week – they have great potential. We look forward to seeing the detail on how we will translate that ambition into reality.'
RCP president Dr Mumtaz Patel said: 'Doctors are telling us loud and clear about the scale and impacts of obesity. It is undermining treatment, driving up complications and placing additional pressure on an already overwhelmed NHS.
'In less affluent communities, we're watching obesity fuel a vicious cycle – people are getting sicker, their care becomes harder to deliver and the system just can't catch up.
'We welcome steps the Government is taking. No few individual measures will be enough. It is a complex problem that requires multifaceted solutions.
'We need bold, joined-up preventative action that tackles the genetic, social, economic and commercial factors that drive obesity.'
Around 29 per cent of adults in the UK are obese, and an estimated 1.5 million are taking weight loss jabs in the UK.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Five-year-old died after accidentally ingesting wrong milk, inquest finds
An inquest jury has concluded that a five-year-old boy who tragically died after an allergic reaction at school was accidentally exposed to cow's milk protein, most likely from his own bottle. Benedict Blythe, a reception pupil at Barnack Primary School in Stamford, Lincolnshire, suffered food-induced anaphylaxis and died in hospital on 1 December 2021. Jurors heard that the boy, who had joined the high-IQ society Mensa at the age of four, was asthmatic and had severe allergies to milk, eggs, and certain nuts. He had vomited twice before going into cardiac arrest. On Wednesday, the foreperson of the jury at Peterborough Town Hall said: 'We deem the probable source of the allergen that caused the fatal anaphylaxis is the ingestion of cow's milk protein, most probably from his own receptacle during break time.' Speaking after the conclusion of the inquest, Benedict's mother Helen Blythe said: 'Benedict died in a place where he should have been safe – his school. 'Benedict's death was preventable and was caused by a cascade of failures – individual, institutional, and systemic.' Factors which the jury found 'probably caused' Benedict's death include the delayed administration of his adrenaline, opportunities for cross-contamination or mix up of milk, and that his allergy plan was not shared with teaching staff. Jurors recorded the conclusion as 'accidental exposure to an allergen, cow's milk protein, causing fatal anaphylaxis'. The jury also found Benedict's recent illness, exercise, his uncontrolled asthma, and a 'missed opportunity' to review 'lessons learned' after he had an allergic reaction to pizza at school in the October before his death were other factors. Benedict was kept home from school the day before he died because he had been unwell and vomited, but woke up 'in good health' the next morning. The eight-day inquest heard that he ate a McVitie's gingerbread biscuit during break time that morning, which he had eaten on previous occasions, and refused to drink a bottle of oat milk poured by his teacher. The jury was told that a sample of the biscuit was independently tested for cow's milk proteins, but traces were not detectable. He also ate dairy-free chocolate before he went to school, which his parents had put into an advent calendar, and his usual breakfast cereal with oat milk. Area coroner for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Elizabeth Gray told the jury they 'may not record' that the allergic reaction was a response to the biscuit, the chocolate, or his breakfast, based on the evidence heard. Dr Shuaib Nasser, a consultant in asthma and allergy, concluded that a 'small amount' of cow's milk most likely caused the fatal anaphylactic reaction because Benedict had a 'life-threatening' milk allergy, while his egg allergy was 'mild', the jury was told. The inquest heard Benedict's adrenaline auto-injector (AAI) was administered twice by a teaching assistant, before CPR and a defibrillator were attempted but he died later that day at Peterborough City Hospital. The jury was told that Benedict's oat milk, given to the school by his parents, was kept in a separate fridge in the staff room along with a carton of lactose-free milk for another child in his class. The class teacher, Jenny Brass, told the inquest she would not have confused Benedict's oat milk with the lactose-free milk, which he could not drink because it contained dairy allergens. The jury concluded that the school's usual procedure of giving Benedict his milk was not followed on the day of his death because the milk was poured into his cup in the staff room rather than in the classroom and given 'directly' to him. Benedict's mother said the school was given a management plan for his allergic reactions, and said vomiting was 'always' the first symptom. The jury heard that Benedict loved school, was 'extremely bright' and was 'thriving' in the three months he spent there before his death. The Benedict Blythe Foundation was set up in the schoolboy's memory and, along with The Allergy Team and the Independent Schools' Bursars Association (ISBA), launched the schools allergy code last year to set out how schools can keep pupils safe. Speaking outside Peterborough Town Hall after the conclusion of the inquest, Ms Blythe said: 'There were critical failings from the very beginning. 'The investigation at the time was inadequate as the evidence needed to establish how and why he died was never obtained. Because of that, precious time was lost — and with it, opportunities to understand what happened to our son. 'No more children should die at school because of an allergy. 'We demand change. We call on this government to protect our children with Benedict's Law, making it mandatory to have an allergy policy in every school, staff allergy training including understanding allergies, how to manage them and identify signs of a reaction, and respond quickly in an emergency, and spare adrenaline allergy pens in every school. 'Proper oversight. Real accountability. Immediate action. We owe that to every child.'
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Boy, 5, killed by allergic reaction to cow's milk at school
A five-year-old boy was killed by an allergic reaction to cow's milk he was accidentally exposed to at school, an inquest jury has found. Benedict Blythe, who was a member of Mensa, died following the reaction on Dec 1 2021. The reception pupil at Barnack Primary School in Stamford, Lincolnshire, vomited twice before going into cardiac arrest. Jurors heard that he was asthmatic and allergic to milk, eggs and some nuts. On Wednesday, the foreman of the jury at Peterborough Town Hall said: 'We deem the probable source of the allergen that caused the fatal anaphylaxis is the ingestion of cow's milk protein, most probably from his own receptacle during break time.' Speaking after the conclusion of the inquest, Benedict's mother Helen Blythe said: 'Three and a half years ago, we lost our son. Benedict died in a place where he should have been safe – his school. 'Benedict's death was preventable and was caused by a cascade of failures – individual, institutional, and systemic.' Factors that the jury found 'probably caused' Benedict's death include the delayed administration of his adrenaline, opportunities for cross-contamination or mix-up of milk, and that his allergy plan was not shared with teaching staff. Jurors recorded the conclusion as 'accidental exposure to an allergen, cow's milk protein, causing fatal anaphylaxis'. The jury also found Benedict's recent illness, exercise, his uncontrolled asthma, and a 'missed opportunity' to review 'lessons learned' after he had an allergic reaction to pizza at school in the October before his death were other factors. Benedict was kept home from school the day before he died because he had been unwell and vomited, but woke up 'in good health' the next morning before school. The eight-day inquest heard that he ate a McVitie's gingerbread biscuit during break time that morning, which he had eaten on previous occasions, and refused to drink a bottle of oat milk poured by his teacher. The jury was told that a sample of the biscuit was independently tested for cow's milk proteins, but traces were not detectable. He also ate dairy-free chocolate before he went to school, which his parents had put into an advent calendar, and his usual breakfast cereal with oat milk. Elizabeth Gray, area coroner for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, told the jury they 'may not record' that the allergic reaction was a response to the biscuit, the chocolate, or his breakfast, based on the evidence heard. Dr Shuaib Nasser, a consultant in asthma and allergy, concluded that a 'small amount' of cow's milk most likely caused the fatal anaphylactic reaction, because Benedict had a 'life-threatening' milk allergy – while his egg allergy was 'mild', the jury was told. The inquest heard Benedict's adrenaline auto-injector was administered twice by a teaching assistant, before CPR and a defibrillator were attempted, but he died later that day at Peterborough City Hospital. The jury was told that Benedict's oat milk, given to the school by his parents, was kept in a separate fridge in the staff room along with a carton of lactose-free milk for another child in his class. Jenny Brass, the class teacher, told the inquest she would not have confused Benedict's oat milk with the lactose-free milk, which he could not drink because it contained dairy allergens. The inquest heard it is possible Benedict took a sip of the drink when his back was turned away from the teacher. Vomiting 'always' the first symptom The jury concluded that the school's usual procedure of giving Benedict his milk was not followed on the day of his death because the milk was poured into his cup in the staff room rather than in the classroom and given 'directly' to him. Benedict's mother said the school was given a management plan for his allergic reactions, and said vomiting was 'always' the first symptom. The jury heard that Benedict loved school, was 'extremely bright', and was 'thriving' in the three months he spent there before his death. The Benedict Blythe Foundation was set up in the schoolboy's memory and, along with The Allergy Team and the Independent Schools' Bursars Association, launched the schools allergy code last year to set out how schools can keep pupils safe. Speaking outside Peterborough Town Hall after the conclusion of the inquest, Mrs Blythe said: 'There were critical failings from the very beginning. 'The investigation at the time was inadequate as the evidence needed to establish how and why he died was never obtained. Because of that, precious time was lost – and with it, opportunities to understand what happened to our son. 'No more children should die at school because of an allergy. 'We demand change. We call on this government to protect our children with Benedict's Law, making it mandatory to have an allergy policy in every school, staff allergy training including understanding allergies, how to manage them and identify signs of a reaction, and respond quickly in an emergency, and spare adrenaline allergy pens in every school. 'Proper oversight. Real accountability. Immediate action. We owe that to every child.'
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Three former bosses at hospital where Lucy Letby worked are arrested for gross negligence manslaughter
Three former bosses at the hospital where Lucy Letby murdered babies have been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter, Cheshire Police announced today. The senior executives, who worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital during the neo-natal nurse's killing spree, were quizzed by detectives yesterday after being invited to attend separate police stations across Cheshire. They have since been bailed pending further enquiries. Their arrests form part of Cheshire Constabulary's ongoing inquiry into corporate manslaughter at the NHS Trust, where Letby murdered seven premature infants and harmed seven more between June 2015 and June 2016. In March, Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes, confirmed the corporate manslaughter investigation, codenamed Operation Duet, had been widened to include 'the grossly negligent action or inaction of individuals.' He said 'those identified as suspects had been notified' but refused to confirm any names. The Mail is aware of the identities of those arrested but is not naming individuals. Letby, 35, is serving 15 whole-life orders after being found guilty of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others, with two attempts on one of her victims, at the hospital's neo-natal unit. She has twice had applications to challenge her convictions rejected by the Court of Appeal. The Trial of Lucy Letby: The Inquiry Listen and follow on Spotify and Apple Podcasts now. According to an independent report, leaked to the Mail's Trial+ podcast, in March, babies' lives could have been saved if hospital bosses had acted sooner to remove Lucy Letby from working. The report, commissioned by the Countess after Letby was first arrested, in July 2018, found managers were 'inexperienced' and missed 14 opportunities to suspend the nurse because they became 'blinkered' to the possibility she was responsible. Instead of alerting the police, they commissioned a series of ineffectual external investigations, which failed to get to the bottom of why babies were unexpectedly collapsing and dying, the document said. Executives also 'ostracised' and 'bullied' doctors when they continued to raise concerns and demand police be called in, the report, carried out by independent healthcare consultancy Facere Melius, which has been blocked from publication, concluded. Although the report does not specifically reveal which babies might have lived, it makes clear that, by February 2016, at least two senior executives at the hospital knew about the link between Letby and the infant deaths. She tried to kill four children, Babies K, L, M and N, and murdered two triplet brothers, Babies O and P, before being removed from frontline nursing in July that year. 'Earlier action potentially would have reduced the number of baby deaths,' the report said. 'Had different decisions been made the spike in baby deaths would have been picked up sooner internally and externally, and potentially, lives could have been saved.' At the recent public inquiry, which is investigating Letby's crimes, senior management at the hospital faced serious criticism over their handling of the spike in deaths. In their closing speeches, in March, lawyers for the infants' families, accused executives of orchestrating a cover up to protect the reputation of the hospital, lying to the families and bullying the consultants who tried to raise the alarm. Peter Skelton KC, who represents seven of Letby's victims, said they displayed 'a form of individual and corporate self-protection that should have no place in the NHS.' Kate Blackwell KC, for the senior executives, said in her closing remarks that they now accepted they should have called in police sooner, but the barrister insisted it was never expressed to them in 'stark' terms that Letby was causing deliberate harm before June 2016 – when she attacked and murdered Babies O and P and was finally moved from frontline nursing into an administrative role. Ms Blackwell said managers accepted they had failed to follow safeguarding policies, made mistakes in their communication with the babies' parents and that there was a breakdown in their relationship with the paediatricians, who should have been better supported. But she insisted all their decisions were taken 'in good faith' and they 'vociferously denied' claims they deliberately and knowingly 'harboured' a murderer or put the hospital's reputation before the safety of babies in their care. 'The senior managers have emphatically refuted the proposition that either their own reputation or that of the Trust was prioritised over safety,' she added. In law, an individual can be found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter if they negligently breach the duty of care they owe the person who died and it was 'reasonably foreseeable' that such a breach gave rise to a 'serious and obvious risk of death.' The circumstances of the breach also have to be 'truly exceptionally bad and so reprehensible' that it amounts to gross negligence. Neonatologist Professor Neena Modi, Letby's barrister Mark McDonald, Sir David Davis MP and retired medic Dr Shoo Lee, during a press conference to announce 'new medical evidence' which they say casts doubts on her convictions Mr Hughes, senior investigating officer for Operation Duet, said: 'As part of our ongoing enquiries, on Monday 30th June three individuals who were part of the senior leadership team at the Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015-2016, were arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. 'All three have subsequently been bailed pending further enquiries. 'Both the corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter elements of the investigation are continuing and there are no set timescales for these.' He added that today's development does 'not impact on the convictions of Lucy Letby for multiple offences of murder and attempted murder.' 'Our investigation into the deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the neo-natal units of both the Countess of Chester Hospital and the Liverpool Women's Hospital between the period of 2012 to 2016 is also ongoing.' Letby, of Hereford, has always maintained she is innocent and in April her new defence team submitted evidence from a panel of international experts to the Criminal Cases Review Commission, the organisation that examines miscarriages of justice, in a bid to have her convictions overturned. The experts claim no murders took place and instead assert that the babies died or collapsed because of natural causes or poor care. Following the announcement of the arrests, Mark McDonald, Letby's new defence barrister, called for another inquiry into the 'failings of the neonatal and paediatric medical care unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital.' 'Yet another press release from the police at a very sensitive time when the CCRC are looking at the case of Lucy Letby,' Mr McDonald said. 'Despite this the concerns many have raised will not go away, and we will continue to publicly discuss them. 'The reality is that 26 internationally renowned experts have looked at this case and the lead expert has concluded that no crime was committed, no babies were murdered. What is needed is a proper and full public inquiry into the failings of the neonatal and paediatric medical care unit at the Countess of Chester hospital.'
