Obesity is not just an epidemic in the United States. It torments those living in Great Britain, too, where the most obese patients cost the National Health Service (NHS), one of the nation’s most praiseworthy institutions, an average of $2,416 a year. The health impact of obesity in Britain is significant—it is the second largest preventable cause of cancer and costs the NHS roughly $14 billion a year. Speaking up about the growing problem, British Member of Parliament (MP) and Health Secretary Wes Streeting recently stated that “widening waistbands” burdened the NHS. But, eureka, Streeting has found a “game-changing” solution. Without question, obesity wrecks one’s health, so what is Streeting’s scheme? Lo and behold, under Streeting’s lead, NHS has partnered with Lilly—the world’s largest pharmaceutical company—in a $360 million investment deal from the drug manufacturing giant to perform real-world trials of its star obesity jab Mounjaro on the unemployed.

Streeting, who also serves as a Vice President of the Local Government Association and patron of LGBT+ Labour, pleaded his case in The Telegraph on October 14, 2024. Noting that “as a country, we’re eating more, eating less healthily, and exercising less.” A month before that, citing long waits for treatment, crumbling hospitals, mental health patients in “vermin-infested cells,” and far fewer MRI scanners than comparable countries, a recent government-commissioned report declared the 75-year-old NHS is in “critical condition.” With Britain’s new prime minister Keir Starmer insisting the NHS has reached a critical “reform or die” position, Streeting wrote in The Telegraph:

“Our widening waistbands are also placing significant burden on our health service, costing the NHS £11 billion a year—even more than smoking. And it’s holding back our economy. Illness caused by obesity causes people to take an extra four sick days a year on average, while many others are forced out of work altogether.

For years, governments have ducked the serious, long-term policy decisions required to tackle its debilitating effects. Fears of being labeled “nanny state” have meant nothing has been done, and the problem has only gotten worse.

As with most of the issues we inherited, this Government recognises that we can only do so much. It will require working in partnership with  business, civil society, and all of us as citizens to make real progress – that’s what Sir Keir Starmer’s mission-driven Government is about.”

What is the “mission-driven” Government described by newly anointed British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of the democratic socialist’s Labour Party? And what does “reform or die” ultimately look like? In mid-October, in what is surely a deep-state dream come true, Starmer teamed up with King Charles, Elton John, and a Michelin chef to “woo” the world’s most powerful bosses—the CEOs of Goldman Sachs and BlackRock, along with the heads of Lloyds, HSBC, Barclays and Brookfield—to secure roughly $82 billion in foreign investment pledges.

Prior to Starmer’s star-studded evening, in September, The Telegraph wrote that Starmer was preparing a raft of “nanny state” interventions on public health as he “races to save the NHS from collapse.” Indeed, the UK’s healthcare system, which provides universal health coverage to UK residents and non-residents with a European Health Insurance Card, faces numerous challenges. Funded by general taxation, the NHS is typically known for providing a high standard of care, yet it is currently “flashing red” on nearly all performance measures. Hmm, it seems like the millions from Lilly, along with the billions it is seeking from the likes of BlackRock and others, will certainly help to facilitate “reform.”

Dr. Phil Banfield, chairman of the council at the British Medical Association, depicts a dreadful state of affairs at the NHS, remarking that the “crisis is now and the crunch is today,” adding, “investing in medical schools while refusing to reverse years of pay erosion is illogical.” Banfield explained that the NHS is not where it is today due to the pandemic or new economic challenges precipitated by war in Europe; instead, he insists, “we’ve been warned of catastrophe for 10 years, it’s now arrived.” According to Banfield, “this devastation has been wrought by successive UK governments.” Presently, short on clinicians, the NHS has published the first ever Long Term Workforce Plan, backed by over USD 3.1 billion in Government funding to deliver “the biggest training expansion in NHS history alongside measures to improve culture, leadership, and well-being.”

Apparently, controversial and dangerous weight loss jabs like Mounjaro are part of the plan to achieve well-being. “We are calling on some of the world’s leading scientific minds and research institutions to help us succeed,” Streeting proclaimed when announcing the significant investment from Lilly to shape up Britain’s healthcare predicament. He added that the five-year real-world study Lilly will operate with its weight loss jabs could be monumental in Britain’s approach to tackling obesity, which will, in turn, help people get back to work and ease the toll obesity takes on the NHS. Specifically, the study will examine the “real-world” effectiveness of tirzepatide (Mounjaro) on weight loss, and on preventing diabetes and obesity-related complications. Researchers will also measure how the drug affects a patient’s employment status and the number of sick days they take.

To get Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro weight-loss program underway, the NHS, which is also “tackling obesity” with efforts like the Soft Drinks Industry Levy, has proposed that those who need it most should get it first. Britain hopes to give the jabs to 250,000 NHS patients over the next three years. Mounjaro was approved for use in the UK last year. Still, Lilly held off on its launch until its pre-filled injection device called Kwikpen was endorsed by the country’s Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The product has been cleared for both type 2 diabetes and obesity patients.

In yet another example of Big Pharma profiting from the destruction of public health, Lilly reported worldwide sales of Mounjaro, approved by the FDA in 2022, at $5.2 billion in 2023. Analysts project its sales will rise sharply through the rest of the decade, with sales expected to reach a staggering $34 billion by 2029. But common sense must prevail. Big Pharma isn’t the solution to fix any healthcare crisis and quite literally has no desire to be. Unsafe weight loss jabs like Mounjaro must not become the overarching anecdote to the obesity crisis that has taken hold of both Britain and the United States. Having said that, it will be interesting to see how this move, which feels eerily similar to a social credit score, plays out in Britain. Noting that the “eligible population” for the Lilly obesity study is actually in the millions, Dr. Dolly van Tulleken, obesity policy specialist at the University of Cambridge, remarked:

“[There are] some serious ethical, financial and efficacy considerations with such an approach … Such as looking at people, or measuring people based on their potential economic value, rather than primarily based on their needs and their health needs.

It’s incredibly important that people in the UK access healthcare based on their health need rather than their potential economic value.”