Politics

‘A tax on being thin’: only high earners make overall savings on food bills from weight-loss drugs

Grand Herald US session desk (2026-08-15): The high cost of weight-loss medication is a “regressive tax on being thin” because the outlay outweighs any saving on food costs for all but the highest… Primary source: original at The Guardian (theguardian.com).

August 15, 2026 7:51 AM GMT · The Guardian

‘A tax on being thin’: only high earners make overall savings on food bills from weight-loss drugs

The high cost of weight-loss medication is a “regressive tax on being thin” because the outlay outweighs any saving on food costs for all but the highest earners.

Someone needs to have discretionary income of nearly £100,000 a year to actually save money after covering the £1,200 annual cost of GLP-1 medication, according to an analysis by the consultancy Baringa.