Kerre Woodham: If there's a fix for obesity-related costs, why wouldn't we use it?

Obesity related illnesses, as you well know, cost this country a fortune. The direct healthcare costs of obesity, well, they estimated it at $2 billion per year, per year, and that was in 2021, so it'll be a hell of a lot more now. It's more difficult to calculate the total economic impact that obesity has on this country. Estimates range between $4 to $9 billion per year. It depends whether you include lost productivity and how you quantify the loss of quality of life. If you are chair bound and you're in your 20’s, how do you calculate the cost of that? Cardiovascular disease linked closely to obesity costs New Zealand a minimum of $13.8 billion.  

We're looking for hundreds of millions at the moment to try and balance the books with the Budget coming up – look at the billions being spent on healthcare costs. Type 2 diabetes, that costs an estimated $2.1 billion annually. Over two in three adults and nearly one third of children in New Zealand are overweight or obese, placing a severe strain on the health system. So it costs the country a lot. It would make a meaningful difference reducing the numbers of people who are obese and then see that obesity is triggering all kinds of health conditions. The cost in terms of New Zealanders not being able to live their lives, fulfil their potential, that too is staggering. So if there is a way to fix it, why wouldn't we fix it? If somebody said there's a pill for that, you'd take it. 

And indeed, turns out there is. Pharmac thinks we can and should solve the problem through medication. It has added the semaglutide drug to its list of medicines suitable for future funding. In a decision released yesterday, the drug funding agency confirmed it had added Wegovy, as you know it, to its list of options for investment. The options for investment includes all the medications Pharmac would fund if the budget allowed. It's currently unfunded, and if you want to buy it yourself, Wegovy costs someone about $400 a month. The order of Pharmac's list isn't made public for commercial reasons, as Radio New Zealand writes, but if chosen, the drug would be available to people with a BMI of more than 50 and also to those with a BMI of more than 35 with at least two comorbidities.  

There is a cure for obesity, but there will be a group of people, and you might be one of them as you're standing or sitting here listening to me, who don't want to fund obesity drugs despite the clear cost benefits, because you see fat as being a moral failing, and fat people as being inferior beings. You think it's simply a matter of willpower. There were no fat people during wars, food was scarce, and that's the end of that. Pull up your socks, go for a walk, say no, put down the fork, problem solved. Despite the fact that medical experts and psychiatrists say it is way more complicated than that. The ads we're running for weight loss drugs at the moment on this station give an indication of what it's like to see food as a reward and as an enemy. It's the voice chatter that Oprah Winfrey talked about when she went on Ozempic. She said the medication stopped the constant mental chatter about what to eat, what to resist, the constant negotiation about food, which was a feeling she'd experienced for 50 years. The okay, well, if I have an egg for breakfast, that's protein, that's good, but then there's the toast and that's carbs, should I try and put it on say a rice cracker? That doesn't feel very nice. Okay, I've been for a walk so I can reward myself with a piece of cake. Constant. And that's what the ads give an indication of, that's what Oprah Winfrey was talking about. She had an aha moment when she realised that overeating doesn't cause obesity, it's obesity that causes overeating. It is not a moral failing. And I know that when you exercise and when you restrict your food, you lose weight. I've done it before. I'll do it again. I'm in and out like an accordion – I can still hear the chatter sometimes, other times I let it go.  

But for some people, the chatter is so great that they simply don't have the option of going for a walk. Some people can't tie their own shoelaces. It's a psychological illness rather than a physical one. And that's what the experts say, that's not just me. And I know you feel smuggety smug smug smug smug when you're out there running in the early morning and having your chia and your sliced berries and that's your bag, or your marinated vegetables for breakfast, and you're feeling super fit. I used to feel smuggety smug smug smug too when I'd go for my early morning marathon training runs and you knew that people were lying in bed at 7:30 in the morning. Now I think, bloody who was the fool? But you go on feeling smug, you go on feeling smug and feeling superior, and in the meantime, there is a solution to a problem. It's a problem that affects a significant proportion of people. Some people can put down the fork, some peopl

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the carry Wood and Morning's podcast from
News Talks.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
He'd be obesity related illnesses, as you well know, costs
this country our fortune. The direct healthcare costs of obesity, well,
they estimated it at two billion dollars per year per year,
and that was in twenty twenty one, so it'll be
a hell of a lot more now. It's more difficult

(00:31):
to calculate the total economic impact that obesity has on
this country. Estimates range between four to nine billion per year.
It depends whether you include lost productivity and how you
quantify the loss of quality of life. If you are
chair bound and you're in your twenties, how do you

(00:55):
calculate the cost of that. Cardiovascular disease linked closely to
obesity costs New Zealand a minimum of thirteen point eight
billion with a B. We're looking for hundreds of millions
at the moment to try and balance the books with
the budget coming up. Look at the billions being spent

(01:18):
on healthcare costs. Type two diabetes that costs an estimated
two point one billion annually. Over two in three adults
and nearly one third of children in New Zealand are
overweight or obese placing a severe strain on the health system,

(01:38):
so it costs the country a lot. It would make
a meaningful difference reducing the numbers of people who are obese,
and then see that obesity is triggering all kinds of
health conditions. The cost in terms of New Zealand is
not being able to live their lives fulfill their potential.

(02:01):
That too is staggering. So if there is a way
to fix it, why wouldn't we fix it? If somebody
said there's a pill for that, yet take it and
indeed turns out there is. FARMAC thinks we can and
should solve the problem through medication and it has added
the semiglue tide drug to its lists of medicine suitable

(02:23):
for future funding, and a decision released yesterday the Drug
Funding Agency confirmed and it added will basically you know
it is were gov to its list of options for investment.
The options for investment includes all the medications FARMAC would
fund if the budget allowed, it's currently unfunded and if

(02:46):
you want to buy yourself were go because someone about
four hundred a month. The order of farmac's list isn't
made public for commercial reasons. As read in New Zealand writes,
but if chosen, the drug would be available to people
with a BMI of more than fifty and also to
those with a BMI of more than thirty five with
at least two co morbidities. There is a cure for obesity,

(03:13):
but there will be a group of people, and you
might be one of them, as you're standing or sitting
here listening to me, who don't want a fund obesity
drugs despite the clear cost benefits. Because you see fat
as being a moral failing and fat people as being
inferior beings. You think it's simply a matter of willpower.

(03:40):
Who are no fat people? During Wars, food was scarce
and that's the end of that. Pull up your socks,
go for a walk, say no, put down the fork
problem solved, despite the fact that medical experts and psychiatrists
say it is way more complicated than that. The ads

(04:03):
we're running for weight loss drugs at the moment on
this station give an indication of what it's like to
see food as a reward and as an enemy. It's
the voice chatter that Oprah Winfrey talked about when she
went on Nozimpic. She said the medications stopped the constant
mental chatter about what to eat, what to resist, the

(04:24):
constant negotiation about food, which was a feeling she'd experienced
for fifty years. They Okay, well, if I have an
egg for breakfast, that's protein. That's good. But then there's
the toast and that's covered. Should I try and put
it on, say a rice cracker? That doesn't feel very nice? Okay,
I've been for a walk, so I can reward myself

(04:46):
with a piece of cake. You're constant, and that's what
the ads give an indication of. That's what Oprah Winfrey
was talking about. She had an AHA moment when she
realized that over eating doesn't cause obesity. It's obesity that
causes Overeating is not a moral failing. And I know that.

(05:11):
You know, when you exercise and when you restrict your food,
you lose weight. I've done it before. I'll do it again.
You know. I'm in and out like a like an accordion.
But it is for some people that you know, I
can still the chatter sometimes other times I let it go.

(05:36):
But for some people the chatter is so great that
they simply don't have the option of going for a walk.
Some people can't tie their own shoelaces. It's a matter
psychological illness rather than a physical one. And that's what
the experts say.

Speaker 1 (05:55):
That's not just me.

Speaker 2 (05:57):
And I know you feel smuggy smunk, smunk, smug when
you're out there running in the early morning and you know,
having your chair and your sliced berries, that's your bag,
or your marinated vegetables for breakfast, and you're feeling super fit.
I mean I used to feel smug andy, smug, smug,
smug too when I'd go for my early morning marathon

(06:18):
training runs and you knew that people were lying a
bed at seven point thirty in the morning. Now I think, bloody,
who was the fool? But you go on feeling smug.
You go on feeling smug and feeling superior, and in
the meantime, there is a solution to a problem. It's

(06:41):
a problem that affects a significant proportion of people. Some
people can put down the fork, Some people can reset
their minds themselves great. Others need more assistance. As with
many psychiatric illnesses, some people need to have their their
brain rebooted. And if we can do that and save

(07:01):
ourselves billions, why would we not do that?

Speaker 1 (07:06):
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