David Heathcote is chair of the Huddersfield & Colne Valley Conservative Policy Forum and head of business development for an SME manufacturer in West Yorkshire.
The Government has asked NICE, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, to investigate the use of semaglutide as an option for NHS England to manage obesity and overweight for children aged 12 to 17.
Semaglutide, developed by the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordis and sold under the brand name Wegovy, is an antidiabetic medication used for the treatment of type-2 diabetes and an anti-obesity medication used for long-term weight management.
The appraisal has, however, been suspended as the company has informed NICE that it is unable to provide an evidence submission within the scheduled timeline.
Such advances in pharmaceutical technology are a welcome and important contribution to the nation’s health. But we must be cautious about reaching instinctively for the nation’s cheque book and prescription pad without considering first-, second- and third-degree preventative options, such as combined lifestyle changes.
Sport England’s 2023 Active Lives Survey identified that the nation’s physical activity levels have returned to pre-Covid levels. This masks, however, the finding that there are now half a million more inactive young people than six years ago.
The problem of childhood obesity is significant, with 23 per cent of children aged 10-11 now classed as obese and a further 14.3 per cent classed as overweight. Resorting only to drug solutions will result in an ever-increasing demand on the public finances, when a cheaper and more sustainable lifestyle option is available.
A further issue relating to drug-based solutions is: how can the patient withdraw from the treatment without reversing positive changes?
This is political choice: how best to spend taxpayers’ money and transform the NHS.
A conversation with a member of the Czech parliament at the 2023 Europe Active Health & Fitness Forum rang alarm bells. She was a keen advocate of preventative lifestyle interventions such as physical activity, but reinforced the impression that politicians do not put their weight behind this because “it isn’t sexy enough”.
The Government should be applauded for introducing Integrated Care Systems and for its focus on prevention as solutions for the problems faced by the NHS – the prize afforded should be considered sexy enough.
We can look to examples of good practice for transferable learning, such as Europe Active’s recently launched Active Ageing Communities (AAC) programme, the result of a two-year study in partnership with the University of Southern Denmark across six countries in line with the European Union’s Erasmus+ and Silver Economy Strategy priorities.
While physical inactivity amongst younger people in the UK has increased, the AAC programme saw 90 per cent adherence to the physical activity programme for participants aged 55 to 70, as a result of its co-designed structure based on four key pillars: Education, Socialization, Exercise, and Behaviour Change.
The education pillar informed participants of what happens to the body as we age and how lifestyle changes can reverse or manage this. Socialisation focused on creating supportive and sympathetic groups within a community. The age-appropriate exercise programme was developed on the foundation of the first and second pillars, while the behaviour change element reinforced sustainability.
The system – the NHS, government, and community assets – should consider how we can learn from the AAC model and create cost-effective, sustainable solutions for younger people and their stakeholders, with individual buy-in that may have a significant advantage for the health system and our economy.
Another example of good practice for the health of young people is the Modeshift Stars programme, which supports and encourages reductions in single-occupancy car journeys to and from schools and increases in active travel modes. Supported by the Department for Transport, Modeshift Stars has seen over 1,400 schools in England achieve accreditation since its inception.
The purpose of this piece isn’t to discourage investment in pharmaceutical technology, but to encourage a balanced approach.
Do we really want to inject drugs into our children as a first option, and make them dependent for life? Or do we want to create whole-system education on sustainable health and behaviour change that will improve life from childhood through to old age?
Empowering people with improved lifestyles from childhood is a prize that should be attractive to all of us, our politicians included.
David Heathcote is chair of the Huddersfield & Colne Valley Conservative Policy Forum and head of business development for an SME manufacturer in West Yorkshire.
The Government has asked NICE, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, to investigate the use of semaglutide as an option for NHS England to manage obesity and overweight for children aged 12 to 17.
Semaglutide, developed by the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordis and sold under the brand name Wegovy, is an antidiabetic medication used for the treatment of type-2 diabetes and an anti-obesity medication used for long-term weight management.
The appraisal has, however, been suspended as the company has informed NICE that it is unable to provide an evidence submission within the scheduled timeline.
Such advances in pharmaceutical technology are a welcome and important contribution to the nation’s health. But we must be cautious about reaching instinctively for the nation’s cheque book and prescription pad without considering first-, second- and third-degree preventative options, such as combined lifestyle changes.
Sport England’s 2023 Active Lives Survey identified that the nation’s physical activity levels have returned to pre-Covid levels. This masks, however, the finding that there are now half a million more inactive young people than six years ago.
The problem of childhood obesity is significant, with 23 per cent of children aged 10-11 now classed as obese and a further 14.3 per cent classed as overweight. Resorting only to drug solutions will result in an ever-increasing demand on the public finances, when a cheaper and more sustainable lifestyle option is available.
A further issue relating to drug-based solutions is: how can the patient withdraw from the treatment without reversing positive changes?
This is political choice: how best to spend taxpayers’ money and transform the NHS.
A conversation with a member of the Czech parliament at the 2023 Europe Active Health & Fitness Forum rang alarm bells. She was a keen advocate of preventative lifestyle interventions such as physical activity, but reinforced the impression that politicians do not put their weight behind this because “it isn’t sexy enough”.
The Government should be applauded for introducing Integrated Care Systems and for its focus on prevention as solutions for the problems faced by the NHS – the prize afforded should be considered sexy enough.
We can look to examples of good practice for transferable learning, such as Europe Active’s recently launched Active Ageing Communities (AAC) programme, the result of a two-year study in partnership with the University of Southern Denmark across six countries in line with the European Union’s Erasmus+ and Silver Economy Strategy priorities.
While physical inactivity amongst younger people in the UK has increased, the AAC programme saw 90 per cent adherence to the physical activity programme for participants aged 55 to 70, as a result of its co-designed structure based on four key pillars: Education, Socialization, Exercise, and Behaviour Change.
The education pillar informed participants of what happens to the body as we age and how lifestyle changes can reverse or manage this. Socialisation focused on creating supportive and sympathetic groups within a community. The age-appropriate exercise programme was developed on the foundation of the first and second pillars, while the behaviour change element reinforced sustainability.
The system – the NHS, government, and community assets – should consider how we can learn from the AAC model and create cost-effective, sustainable solutions for younger people and their stakeholders, with individual buy-in that may have a significant advantage for the health system and our economy.
Another example of good practice for the health of young people is the Modeshift Stars programme, which supports and encourages reductions in single-occupancy car journeys to and from schools and increases in active travel modes. Supported by the Department for Transport, Modeshift Stars has seen over 1,400 schools in England achieve accreditation since its inception.
The purpose of this piece isn’t to discourage investment in pharmaceutical technology, but to encourage a balanced approach.
Do we really want to inject drugs into our children as a first option, and make them dependent for life? Or do we want to create whole-system education on sustainable health and behaviour change that will improve life from childhood through to old age?
Empowering people with improved lifestyles from childhood is a prize that should be attractive to all of us, our politicians included.