The spread of ‘fat jabs’ such as Ozempic could lead to a rise in the state pension age because previously obese workers will live longer than expected, Government advisers have warned.
With more than 1.5 million people now using weight-loss drugs in the UK, the number-crunchers say that actuarial calculations about life expectancy – and therefore the bill faced by the Department for Work and Pensions – will have to be adjusted.
Users of the drugs, which also include Mounjaro and Wegovy, typically lose about 15 per cent of their body weight, leading to knock-on health benefits such as lower cholesterol levels and reduced blood pressure.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting aims to widen the availability of the drugs on the NHS to lessen the burden on the Health Service and boost employment, arguing that ‘our widening waistbands’ are ‘holding back our economy’.
Illness as a result of obesity causes people to take an extra four sick days a year on average.
