EXCLUSIVE Britain's wobbly warriors! Defence chiefs turn to expensive weight loss drugs in a bid to get more troops fit to fight on the frontline By MARK NICOL, DEFENCE EDITOR Published: 22:08 GMT, 28 January 2025 | Updated: 22:41 GMT, 28 January 2025 e-mail 10 View comments Defence chiefs have turned to expensive celebrity weight-loss drugs in a bid to get more troops fit to fight on the frontline. Figures obtained by the Mail have revealed more than 500 prescriptions for Semaglutide, the active ingredient in on-trend products such as Ozempic and Wegovy, have been issued to personnel. The drugs have been signed off by commanders at the same time as essential exercises are being scaled back and equipment purchases cancelled to save money.
Last night, the Ministry of Defence confirmed the medications, when prescribed in service, were likely to be for conditions such as diabetes , which is directly linked to obesity in adults. The 81 troops who have received Semaglutide, which was made fashionable in the UK by the likes of television personality Jeremy Clarkson and James Cordon, could only have developed diabetes as adults and since they enlisted in the Armed Forces. That is because the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force are exempt from the Equality Act and therefore can ban people with diabetes and other conditions from joining.
The cases of those who develop diabetes in service are managed by unit doctors. They are not automatically discharged - however they cannot deploy t.
