With nearly one in four adults in England classed as obese, specialist advice on dieting and weight loss is losing out to prescription anti-obesity drugs.

The number of prescriptions for weight-loss pills has risen to 1.5 million – up by 13 per cent since 2008 and 66 per cent since 2005. And the cost of these drugs to the NHS is £47 million per year.

The only recommended drug for obesity is ‘Orlistat’, commonly found under the brand name of ‘Alli’. However, many patients stop using it because of side-effects such as diarrhoea. And health care experts have also pointed out that the drug is only effective when eating a low-fat diet and regular follow-ups with a GP.

Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, told The Times that weight-loss medication should only be considered for severely obese patients when previous weight-loss attempts had failed.

“Dealing with patients who are grossly overweight is very difficult, but pills are not the solution,” said Professor Field.

“What these patients need is a balanced diet and expert dietary advice from a dietitian and often psychological support, to change their behaviour long-term. But the availability of these services is not great and doctors resort to prescribing medication under patient pressure.”

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