The NHS will now recommend a drug to help obese people lose weight after a watchdog approved its use.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approved the use of weekly semaglutide injections for patients who have at least one weight-related condition and a body mass index of 53 or more.

Semaglutide suppresses appetite by mimicking glucagon-like peptide-1, a hormone which is usually released by the body after eating.

The drug makes people feel full and thereby results in a decreased appetite and overall calorie intake.

Under the NHS, adults are considered obese if their BMI is 30 or above.

The condition, which can be caused by underlying health problems such as an underactive thyroid gland, can lead to complications such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.

NICE said clinical trial evidence had shown that people using semaglutide, lost an average of 12 per cent more body weight than those taking a placebo.

A 2019 NHS Health Survey for England estimated that 28 per cent of all adults in the country were obese, and a further 36 per cent were overweight.

Helen Knight, programme director in the centre for health technology evaluation at NICE, commented: “We know that management of overweight and obesity is one of the biggest challenges our health service is facing with nearly two thirds of adults either overweight or obese.

“It is a lifelong condition that needs medical intervention, has psychological and physical effects, and can affect quality of life.

“But in recent years NICE has been able to recommend a new line of pharmaceutical treatments which have shown that those people using them, alongside changes to their diet and exercise, have been able to reduce their weight.”

Experts at NICE have cautioned that semaglutide should only be offered as an option alongside traditional weight management plans such as eating a reduced-calorie diet and increasing physical activity, and should not be used for longer than two years.

They said anyone from a south Asian, Chinese, and black African or Caribbean background will also be able to access the drug at a lower BMI.

This is because of a previous finding from NICE that people from these groups are at risk of conditions like diabetes at a lower BMI than the white European population.

In some cases, those with a BMI of 30 may be able to access the drug.

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