Weight-loss drugs not 'holy grail' of obesity crisis, says NHS director

Weight-loss injections are not the "holy grail" of solving the obesity crisis, although they will play an important role in how the NHS treats the disease, the medical director of NHS England has said.

- Matthew Weaver, Tobi Thomas

Speaking at a conference hosted by the King's Fund yesterday, Prof Sir Stephen Powis said weight-loss drugs were "revolutionary", and that they were "a very welcome addition to the everyday treatment options we have available within the NHS to manage obesity".

He added that although these new treatments could be transformative, it must also be recognised that as a country "we cannot simply treat our way out of the obesity crisis - we know far wider action is needed on prevention across society, to help stem it at source and stop so many lives being cut short".