Yahoo readers reveal if they would consider taking weight loss drugs

Yahoo UK's poll of the week lets you vote and indicate your strength of feeling on one of the week's hot topics. After 72 hours the poll closes and, each Friday, we'll publish and analyse the results, giving readers the chance to see how polarising a topic has become and if their view chimes with other Yahoo UK readers.

The popularity of weight loss drugs continue to soar, as more research emerges about the potential benefits beyond helping people lose weight.

A recent study showed that the medications, which contain the active ingredient semaglutide, could benefit cardiovascular health.

However, while these drugs are prescription-only for eligible patients that meet certain criteria, concerns have been raised over people getting them through private clinics or illegitimate websites.

The demand for weight loss medications has been further fuelled by celebrities who have shown sudden and dramatic weight loss transformations.

However, the drug was originally created to help people with diabetes manage their condition. The demand for it as a weight loss medication has caused shortages for diabetes patients, making its use for anything apart from diabetes controversial.

In light of the ongoing debate over weight loss drugs, Yahoo News UK asked our readers whether they would take weight loss drugs to bring their body weight down in our Poll of the Week. Here are the results:

Our poll received 3,070 votes and showed 71% of Yahoo readers would definitely consider taking weight loss drugs.

Less than a quarter (22%) said they would not consider weight loss medications, while 7% of readers did not lean either way.

Yahoo readers were also asked: 'How worried are you about the safety of these new weight loss drugs?'

This poll received 1,755 votes with an average strength-of-feeling score of 5.4. The spread of ratings shows the voters were split on their feelings about safety. However, the most common vote being 10, indicating a proportion of readers were very concerned about the safety of weight loss drugs.

Our original poll article can be found here.

Read more of Yahoo UK's Poll of the Week articles