Many praise them for their health benefits and effectiveness, but there are concerns about unknown long-term health impacts

The Times recently covered two stories about the wider health impacts of weight loss drugs such as Mounjaro and Ozempic. One study has found they could lead a heightened risk of frailty and osteoporosis in old age, while another claims the tablet version of the drugs could spell the end of type 2 diabetes.

Perhaps because of this varied information, public perceptions of the drugs are split, with 35% of Britons believing the health benefits outweigh the risks, while 36% feel the drugs carry more health risks than benefits.

But what do Britons think about weight loss drugs? To dig deeper into public perceptions in this area, we used our new YouGov AI Interviewer tool to ask respondents: “do you think weight loss drugs are a good or a bad thing?”

The AI agent then conducted interviews with each respondent, following up on their responses, in order to provide ‘the why’ behind what Britons think. Our qualitative analysis of attitudes, including quotes, can be found below, along with examples of respondent interviews in their entirety.

Health benefits and effectiveness

Naturally, those with more favourable views of weight loss drugs cited their health benefits, including mobility, obesity related conditions, quality of life, confidence and mental wellbeing.

  • Both your mental and physical state needs to be in the right place, if some people a mordibly overweight then they probably are not in the right state of mind to chose to go to a gym, so having these injections will boost their confidence when they can see they are loosing weight. – Male, 55+
  • I think if you are obese the health benefits are greater they help with joint issues, heart issues and just make someone who has real difficulties losing weight feel,good about themselves .I think the health benefits to people who are not overweight are less but if you need to take it because you have low self esteem I doubt you will gain much from it at all it’s a confidence thing – Female, 55+
  • i think they are helpful for people who struggle to lose weight but more information needs to be given about side effects and also how to maintain the lifestyle after withdrawing from drugs. But i think they could save the nhs loads in weight management related diseases – Female, 18-24
  • Balance of probability. Being very obese will lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, poor blood sugar control and those will cut life expectancy. Even if the drugs do cause damage losing weight is probably better for the people involved. – Male, 45-54
Quotes on "Health benefits and effectiveness"

Safety and long-term risks

Others see cause for concern in potential adverse health impacts, including side effects, addiction, nutritional issues, and broad concern that the risks are not yet fully understood.

  • We don’t know what the negative effects will be long term. Maybe they will be very bad. We do know there will be a cost to someone of maintaining drug use over the longer term. This could drive a long term trend for NHS treatment. – Female, 55+
  • Issues people have had following use of them. Loss of muscle mass, potential weakening of bone strength, potential pancreatic issues. No long term studies in general (healthy) population. – Female, 35-44
  • All medicines and procedures have risk - weight loss drugs risk not sufficiently understood yet – Female, 55+
  • a lot of drugs that have widespread use will encounter people who may be more prone to side effects, also the long term effects over 15-20 years are not known and can't be - in some ways this is a major experiment – Male, 55+
Quotes on "Safety and long-term risks"

Lifestyle change and responsibility

Other conversations emphasised the necessity for users to change their diet and eating habits alongside taking weight loss drugs, with some expressing concern that the drugs provide an ‘easy fix’.

  • Providing drugs to aid weight loss does not tackle the cause of the problem, it only tackles the symptoms – Male, 55+
  • Because it is not helping people change the eating and health habits that would help them keep the weight down. By loosing weight the "easy" way and without learning new healthier habits, people don't realise what they actually need to do to keep the weight off and therefore will put the weight back on – Female, 25-34
  • I think in general they are a good thing but people should still be encouraged to exercise and improve their diet. – Male, 55+
  • For very obese people they can motivate as improvements can be seen quickly. However I don’t see how it adresses the underlying habits and patterns that enabled them to become obese – Female, 55+
Quotes on: "Lifestyle change and responsibility"

Other themes

Less common themes raised by respondents included social pressure and beauty standards, the sustainability of supply – particularly as it relates to those who need the drugs to treat diabetes and other conditions – and inequality of access.

  • I think weight loss jabs when taken in isolation are a good thing, but the market is woefully underregulated and their prevalence has led to a resurgence of unhealthy beauty standards – Male, 25-34
  • They are impacting negatively on body acceptance by being readily available and advertised. Losing weight for health reasons is completely different from losing weight because of societal pressure to be thin. – Female, 55+
  • I think that characterizing them as weight loss drugs is a problem. They help address a range of issues with metabolic conditions and can make huge impacts on someone's health. Weight is just one factor there. So if you're asking me, do I think it's a good think that drugs exist to help people with diabetes and pcos (pmos), the answer is of course, yes. – Female, 25-34
  • It is a glaring example of health inequality - it is shameful that if you have money you can access them and this treatment is denied for most who can't due to NHS prescribing policy. – Female, 55+
Quotes on "other themes"
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