“Healthcare teams should monitor people for at least a year after they complete” weight loss treatments, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) today (August 5) set out in updated guidance for overweight and obesity management.
“People coming off obesity medication or finishing a weight management programme should be offered support to help keep the weight off and stay healthy long-term,” the guidance said.
Healthcare providers “are expected to begin rolling out the standard immediately”, it added.
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The guidance isn’t specifically aimed at community pharmacies, NICE told C+D, but said that if patients ask for support, pharmacists should sign-post them onto a relevant professional.
It called for healthcare services to offer “ongoing advice and tailored action plans” for patients coming off weight loss medications – such as Wegvoy and Mounjaro.
This could cover “everything from regular check-ins and practical strategies to support with sustainable routines, social support and accessing community help”, it added.
Not a “short-term fix”
According to NICE, the updated guidance replaces three previous standards and “reflects the most up-to-date thinking on how to tackle...obesity through the health system”.
It emphasises “continuity of care” and “the importance of helping people build long-term behavioural habits”, it said.
NICE chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Benger urged that “successful weight management doesn’t end when medication stops”, adding that the “transition period after treatment is crucial”.
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“People need structured support to maintain the positive changes they’ve made,” he said, noting that this new standard “supports the NHS 10-year plan to shift from a ‘sickness service’ to a genuine health service focused on prevention”.
And chair of NICE’s quality standards advisory committee Dr Rebecca Payne stressed that weight management is “not a short-term fix”.
“The evidence is clear that advice and support for maintaining weight after stopping medicines...can help prevent weight regain and enable people to experience lasting benefits,” she said.
Use pharmacy’s “massive skills”
Meanwhile, National Pharmacy Association (NPA) chief executive Henry Gregg said that “pharmacies take their responsibilities seriously to provide full wrap around support to patients trying to achieve a healthy weight”.
“We know that although medication can be effective in speeding up weight loss in some people, it is not a silver bullet and patients need to make long term lifestyle changes to make their weight loss sustainable,” he added.
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“If the government want to scale up the NHS roll out to help more patients, they should use the massive skills and expertise of pharmacies and fund them to reach millions more of those most in need of help,” Gregg said.
It comes after a new poll commissioned by the NPA last week warned of spiralling demand for weight-loss injections, particularly among young people.
And Prime Minister Keir Starmer last month hinted at plans to make “innovative” weight loss jab services available in pharmacies in the future as part of the government’s 10-year health plan.
