Three thousand Brits are to be offered fat-busting jabs on the NHS.
Watchdogs have approved the weight loss drug Saxenda to be used to help the nation’s fattest patients shed weight.
Known as “skinny jabs”, the daily injections have been plugged by celebrities such as TOWIE’s Gemma Collins.
The jabs will be offered to adults with a body mass index over 35.
But they must make lifestyle changes and if they fail to shed at least five per cent of their weight in 12 weeks, the treatment stops.
In trials, users of the £200-a-month drug were less likely to develop type 2 diabetes and had improved blood pressure and cholesterol.
Tam Fry, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, described it as a “necessary evil”.
But safety warnings were issued by nutritionists after the jab was being sold online as a “quick fix” diet aid.
Drug manufacturer Novo Nordisk, a Danish company, said it was “deeply concerned” that some private clinics had used celebrities to “promote prescription weight-loss medicines”.
