Weight-loss drugs could hold key to longer life and usher in 'golden age' of medicine, study finds
14 May 2025, 07:17
Weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy could usher in a “golden age” of medicine due to their ability to delay diseases associated with ageing.
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Weight-loss jabs, also known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, work by reducing food cravings and are available on the NHS for adults with a high body mass index (BMI), or via private providers.
The UK Government is attempting to massively increase the availability of these drugs after doctors highlighted their ability to help people live longer, even if they are not obese.
A recent trial, involving 17,000 people, saw deaths from strokes and heart attacks halve and protect the heart “immediately.”
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Professor John Deanfield, a cardiologist at University College London, called for “many, many millions” of people to be given the jab to help them live longer.
He told The Times: “These drugs do remarkable things to improve many diseases. They are not just weight loss drugs, they affect the biology of diseases of ageing.
“They have shown benefits on heart disease, liver disease, kidney disease, cancer, mood and mental health.
“Very excitingly, there are trials ongoing still that are looking at the effect of these drugs on cognitive decline and dementia.
“This is an exciting new world, where these drugs may play a real role in treating lots of diseases, but even in treating the ageing problem, the longevity issue.”
Currently, only those struggling with their weight are able to get the drugs, but this could change in the near future.
“If we then extend that — because they’re not just weight loss drugs they are treatments for heart disease — then lots and lots more people could even benefit,” Deanfield said.
Lilly, the company which manufactures Mounjaro, has called for the “very slow” rollout of the drug to be sped up and for the government to consider its “broader economic benefit.”
A spokesperson said: “The urgency of the challenge in obesity is significant and one which must be prioritised by NHS and government.
“We have concerns that delayed access to obesity treatments in the NHS will lead to wider health inequalities — given obesity is more prevalent in more deprived communities.
“The ten-year plan for the NHS is a huge opportunity to tackle major conditions, and we welcome the focus on moving from treatment to prevention.”
