An estimated 2.6million people in the UK already use fat jabs to tackle their weight problems.

But that could be eclipsed by demand for new versions of the drugs in pill form.

The first of these, an oral variant of the Wegovy jab, was approved earlier this month by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and is available privately at around £100 a month. In the US, where the Wegovy pill was given the green light earlier this year, there were three million prescriptions in the first five months alone.

Meanwhile, Foundayo, another weight-loss pill version of the fat jabs (made by the company that produces Mounjaro), is expected to be available in the UK later this year.

While 2.6 million people in the UK use fat jabs already, that number could be eclipsed by demand for new versions of the drugs in pill form

Wegovy Pill 

What is in it?

Contains semaglutide – the same drug used in the Wegovy jab. It is made by Novo Nordisk.

How do you take it?

Once a day on an empty stomach with a little water and at least 30 minutes before eating. You start on a dose of just 1.5mg but, depending on how you respond and only on doctor’s orders, this can be gradually increased every 30 days to a maximum of 25mg.

How does it work?

Like the jab, it contains semaglutide, a drug which mimics the action of our GLP-1 gut hormones – telling receptors in the brain to reduce appetite and slow gastric emptying, making you feel fuller for longer.

However, it also has a special ‘carrier’ molecule – called salcaprozate sodium (SNAC), which protects the drug against the harsh acidic environment of the stomach so it can be fully absorbed into the bloodstream (the jab version goes into subcutaneous fat and passes directly into the bloodstream).

How much weight can you lose?

It can vary, but an average 16.6 per cent of bodyweight. For example, if you weigh 16st 7lb (106kg), you could expect to lose around 2st 7lb (17.7kg) over 64 weeks on the highest dose of 25mg a day, according to trial data in the New England Journal of Medicine last September.

This is slightly less than the overall average reported for Wegovy jabs (19 per cent on a once weekly 7.2mg jab). However, a third of the obese volunteers in the pill trial managed to lose 20 per cent or more.

Any other health benefits?

As with GLP-1 jabs, patients on the Wegovy pill experienced significantly improved HbA1c (a three-month average of the sugariness of their blood), lower blood pressure and a slimmer waist.

Blood pressure, for example, dropped by an average of 6.8mm/Hg for systolic (the top number, which measures the maximum pressure your blood exerts against artery walls when your heart beats) and 2.7mm/Hg for diastolic (pressure between beats).

Average waist circumference declined by 12.2cm (or almost 5ins), and fasting plasma glucose – or the amount of sugar in your blood after not eating or drinking for eight hours – dropped by 6.6mg/decilitre.

Meanwhile, total cholesterol scores came down by an average of just over one per cent, and levels of triglyceride blood fats – known to raise the risk of heart disease – dropped by just under one per cent.

Like the jab, the Wegovy pill contains semaglutide, a drug which mimics the action of our GLP-1 gut hormones

Side-effects

Trial data found 74 per cent of those on the Wegovy pill had gastrointestinal side-effects compared with 42 per cent in a placebo group.In most cases these were mild and this is comparable to jabs, including Wegovy. Seven per cent quit Wegovy pills due to side-effects such as nausea, sleep disorders, vomiting, abdominal pain and indigestion. But the drop-out rate was almost the same – six per cent – in the placebo group.

When will it be available?

Private online pharmacies are now supplying the Wegovy pill. Availability on the NHS would depend on approval by NICE, so the earliest it could be prescribed would be 2027.

Cost

Asda’s online pharmacy, for example, charges £98.97 a month for 1.5mg doses and £118.97 for 4mg. Higher doses are coming soon – these will cost £128.97 a month for 9mg and £188.97 for 25mg.

Pros

Greater weight loss than Foundayo (up to 20 per cent over 64 weeks, compared with 12.4 per cent for Foundayo over 72 weeks).

Cheaper than Wegovy injections.

Lowers blood pressure and glucose levels.

Cons

Has to be taken at least 30 minutes before eating. ‘Otherwise less of it will be absorbed as food dilutes the SNAC protective layer,’ says Professor Yeo.

Must be taken daily (the jab’s once a week).

Likely to be more expensive than Foundayo because of its manufacture – it’s a modified peptide hormone which is more difficult to make; Foundayo is a white powder drug made by chemical reaction, therefore cheaper.

It can affect other medications that need to pass through the stomach quickly because it slows down stomach emptying.

Patients on GLP-1 jabs experience improved HbA1c (a three-month average of the sugariness of their blood), lower blood pressure and a slimmer waist

Foundayo, another weight-loss pill version of the fat jabs (made by the company that produces Mounjaro), is expected to be available in the UK later this year

Foundayo Pill

What’s in it?

Contains orforglipron. Made by Mounjaro manufacturer Eli Lilly.

How do you take it?

Once a day and at any time of day. The starting dose is 0.8mg but this can be increased every 30 days up to a maximum dose of 17.2 mg.

How does it work?

Like the Wegovy pill, orforglipron (the active drug in Foundayo), mimics GLP-1 but, unlike Wegovy, it is a small molecule drug that’s chemically stable. This means stomach acid doesn’t destroy it, so it doesn’t need a protective coating.

How much weight can you lose?

An average 12.4 per cent of bodyweight (27.3lbs) over 18 months, so less than the Wegovy pill, according to trial data. However, those who had previously lost weight on jabs but then plateaued managed to maintain 75 to 80 per cent of their weight loss up to 52 weeks by then taking Foundayo instead.

Any other health benefits?

It reduced volunteers’ waistlines by an average 4.4ins (11.1cm) and lowered systolic blood pressure by an average 6.7mmHg (comparable to the Wegovy pill).

Levels of harmful blood fats called

triglycerides fell 21.6 per cent and non-HDL cholesterol (which includes ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol) readings dropped by 8.5 per cent.

Side-effects

Between five and 10 per cent of patients – depending on the dose – quit the drug due to nausea, constipation, diarrhoea, vomiting, indigestion and stomach pain, though most said the effects were mild to moderate.

Others included headache, tiredness, belching, heartburn, wind and hair loss (these are similar to those reports for Wegovy).

Professor Yeo says it’s not fully clear if one pill has more adverse effects than the other – as there are currently so few Foundayo users.

‘I’m not concerned for now, and time will tell if there are actually more side-effects.’

When will it be available?

it is expected to become available privately in the UK in later this year and is currently being reviewed by the medicines watchdog, the MHRA.

The drug will have to be appraised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) before it can be made available on the NHS.

Cost

Currently only available in the US for around $147 (£111) a month for the lowest dose of 0.8mg. In the UK it’s expected to be cheaper than injectable GLP-1s.

Pros

Can be taken at any time of day and ‘without food restrictions, which is more convenient than the Wegovy pill’, says Professor Yeo.

It’s a simple powder that means it will be cheaper to make, ‘so, when it eventually goes off patent [potentially around 2039) it will cost pennies,’ says Professor Yeo.

May help those who have plateaued on fat jabs to maintain most of their weight loss, ‘so I suspect the better-off will use it as a cheaper follow-on to injections’, says Professor Yeo.

Cons

Less weight loss on average than with the Wegovy pill

Has to be taken daily (unlike the weekly jabs)

Slightly higher drop-out rate on higher doses due to unwanted side-effects than with Wegovy pill.

Children of mothers who exclusively breastfeed for at least six months are less likely to develop ADHD, a first-of-its-kind study has found. 

Breast milk has long been linked with better overall health, but there is debate over just how crucial it is for the long-term wellbeing of children.

While the vast majority of British mothers breastfeed in the first two months after birth, around four in ten mothers have stopped by the six month mark, often switching to formula milk instead.

But in the new study, published in the journal Biological Psychiatry, researchers found the longer a child was exclusively breastfed, the less likely they were to show symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.

The Norwegian researchers behind the study say it is unclear why breastfeeding has this protective effect, but theorise that the milk may contain nutrients vital to brain development.

They conclude that full breastfeeding ‘could partially protect against childhood ADHD’.

The findings come as a new report revealed that the number of children in the UK living with ADHD has risen by a quarter since 2018. 

More than one million children were referred to mental health services across England last year, according to Dame Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner who led the report.

Breastfeeding could help protect against childhood ADHD, new research suggests

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a condition which affects the brain.

Symptoms usually start before the age of 12 and children may present as being easily distracted, hyperactive and impulsive. 

Children with ADHD may also find it difficult to concentrate on tasks, sit still and listen to instructions. 

Around 750,000 children in the UK are believed to have ADHD and diagnoses have risen sharply in recent years. 

The new study, led by experts at the University of Bergen, analysed data from 37,643 children and mothers from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study. 

The researchers wanted to find out how many months a child would need to be exclusively breastfed for to reduce their risk of developing ADHD symptoms. 

Six months after giving birth, mothers were asked how long they exclusively breastfed, how long they used a combination of formula and breastmilk and when they introduced other liquids or solid foods. 

‘We found that the longer a child was exclusively breastfed (up to six months), the lower the level of ADHD symptoms at ages three, five, and eight years’, said Dr Berit Skretting Solberg, consultant psychiatrist and study lead author said.

The association was observed in both boys and girls and was strongest at ages three and five. All breastfeeding showed a protective effect which increased with duration and intensity of breastfeeding. 

The researchers concluded: ‘Our findings suggest that full breastfeeding could partially protect against childhood ADHD symptoms,’ but acknowledged further studies need to be done to confirm the findings. 

It is the latest study to demonstrate the health benefits of breastfeeding.

In 2025, a major US review found that breastfeeding reduced the risk of infant mortality, rapid weight gain, infections, and allergies.

Experts say rising ADHD diagnoses are putting unsustainable pressure on the NHS.

In England, nearly 550,000 children and adults are awaiting NHS assessments.

Meanwhile, around a third of NEETs – young people not in education, employment or training – have an ADHD diagnosis.

There are also a growing number of experts who question the validity of these numbers, arguing that ADHD is potentially less common than figures suggest.

The new report into the rising number of young people with mental health conditions, published by children’s commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza, argues that the rising rates of diagnosis for ADHD and autism did ‘not necessarily mean rising prevalence’.

The authors add that the rising number of diagnoses may reflect the ‘medicalisation of distress’ where a diagnosis becomes the ‘main route of support’.

TV presenter Melanie Sykes has revealed she is now completely bald, and the cause is a surprisingly common condition called alopecia.

Believed to affect more than 100,000 people in Britain, alopecia can range from mild hair loss to complete baldness.

There are various kinds of alopecia, which is a general term for hair loss, but one of the most common types is alopecia areata – an autoimmune condition which causes the body to mistakenly attack its hair follicles.

In minor cases alopecia areata causes small, round bald patches on the scalp and can also affect the eyebrows and eyelashes. But in more severe instances it can lead to the loss of all hair on the scalp or across the entire body.

Other forms of alopecia behave differently. Androgenetic alopecia – better known as male or female pattern baldness – usually causes a receding hairline, thinning hair or hair loss at the crown.

Ms Sykes revealed she had lost around ‘two-thirds’ of her hair shortly before debuting her completely bald look.

While it remains unclear which type of alopecia the 55-year-old has, experts are now warning of the everyday activities that can trigger certain types of alopecia – and the practical steps people can take to protect against it.

Melanie Sykes revealed she is now completely bald amid her ongoing battle with alopecia

TikTok hair styles

Tutorials showing how to achieve tight, slicked-back ponytails and buns have racked up millions of views on TikTok, with many dubbing it a ‘natural Botox’ because the look provides a face-lifting effect.

But experts warn the viral aesthetic could come at a cost. 

According to Dr Aamna Adel, a consultant dermatologist and hair specialist, wearing tightly pulled hairstyles can trigger traction alopecia – a form of hair loss caused by repeated tugging on the hair follicles. 

She tells the Daily Mail: ‘Traction alopecia is caused by wearing tight hairstyles like slick-back buns or tightly pulled ponytails. 

‘Essentially, you’re stressing the hair follicle by tugging at it. If you are wearing those hairstyles repeatedly for long periods of hours, the hair can fall out.

‘It’s reversible as long as you stop doing the tight hairstyles. But over time, repeatedly, the hair follicle can become scarred and it can become permanent.’

Poor diet 

Not getting enough essential nutrients can contribute to hair loss, particularly in people following restrictive diets. 

For example, vegans and vegetarians have been found to be at greater risk of iron deficiency because they do not eat red meat, one of the richest sources of iron.

 Studies have linked low iron levels to hair loss, particularly shedding known as telogen effluvium. 

Deficiencies in zinc, found in meat and seafood, as well as vitamin B2, found in dairy products, eggs and lean meats, may also contribute to hair loss. 

Meanwhile, low levels of folate, common in leafy green vegetables, beans and legumes, and vitamin B12, the richest sources of which are animal proteins, have been linked to some forms of alopecia.

A deficiency in selenium – found in Brazil nuts, fish, meats and eggs – can also lead to hair loss, studies have shown, although this is more rare.

Dr Adel said: ‘Not eating enough meat can lead to people developing nutritional deficiencies, but that’s not always the case.

‘I often ask whether some of these are vegan or vegetarian because they may not be getting certain nutrients within their diet.

Ms Sykes revealed she had lost around ‘two-thirds’ of her hair before shortly before debuting her completely bald look

‘So it’s not necessarily linked to just meat, but I would say any type of restrictive diet can lead to nutritional deficiencies potentially.’

Low levels of vitamin D – traditionally caused by a lack of sunlight exposure – have also been associated with alopecia, especially alopecia areata. 

Constant stress

One of the most common phrases about being stressed is that you are left ‘pulling your hair out’. 

But it turns out stress may already be doing that for you.

Studies have shown that physical and emotional stress can be linked to hair loss and, according to experts, three conditions in particular may be triggered by it. 

The first is telogen effluvium, in which stress pushes large numbers of hair follicles into a so-called ‘resting phase’. A few months later, the affected hairs may begin falling out, often while brushing or washing.

Stress is thought to play a role in alopecia areata, too, while it can also trigger trichotillomania, a psychological condition that causes an urge to pull out hair from the scalp, eyebrows or other parts of the body as a way of coping with difficult emotions.

Experts say that stress management techniques, such as regular exercise and talking therapy, can reduce the risk of this hair loss. 

Dr Adel said: ‘Alopecia can be related to general stress. If you’ve had surgery, any type of stress is really either physically or mentally can kind of trigger that type of hair loss.

‘I would say that managing stress is really important when it comes to hair loss and hair thinning, especially where there’s autoimmune disease, which tends to be really triggered by stressful events.

‘When I’m seeing people in clinic, I always tell them a trigger for you having another episode of this hair loss can be stress.

So, it’s really important to try to manage that as best as possible, which is obviously easier said than done.’