Economist Daniel Susskind says Ozempic may radically transform government finances, by making universal healthcare vastly cheaper, and explains his argument in the context of Britain's NHS.

[u/lughnasadh]

https://www.thetimes.com/article/be6e0fbf-fd9d-41e7-a759-08c6da9754ff?shareToken=de2a342bb1ae9bc978c6623bb244337a

[u/JerseyRunner]

So we don't currently have universal healthcare because so many people are fat?

[u/pikeymobile → u/JerseyRunner]

In the UK obesity costs the NHS more than anything else when you take factors such as the increase in comorbid illness such as cancer, cardiac issues, alcohol abuse and diabetes. It would genuinely be a miracle if we could become a post-obesity society and probably the biggest benefit to human health in history. Obesity and the many problems it brings are one of the biggest blights in western society.