More people in Morecambe Bay were prescribed the anti-obesity drug orlistat last year, new figures show.

Orlistat is currently the primary weight loss drug prescribed by the NHS, and was approved for use in 2010. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recently approved the use of another weight loss drug semaglutide by NHS England. 

Orlistat, commonly sold under the brand name Xenical, is available on prescription from doctors or can be bought at a pharmacy where it must be taken under the supervision of a pharmacist. The tablet works by preventing around a third of fat from food from being absorbed into the body.

Data from the NHS OpenPrescribing service shows 2,960 prescriptions for orlistat were handed out by GPs in the former NHS Morecambe Bay CCG area throughout 2022 at a total cost of £74,600 to the NHS.

It is the highest number of prescriptions for the weight loss drug handed out in the area since 2018.

Over the past five years, there were 11,210 prescriptions for orlistat in Morecambe Bay – costing the health service around £269,930.

The Obesity Health Alliance welcomed the approval of semaglutide, but said drugs alone will not resolve the obesity crisis in the UK.