ISTANBUL — A digitally delivered obesity programme in the UK reduced GP visits by > 40% and long-term sick leave by more than 50% within 9 months.

Investigators said the findings suggested that obesity treatment may deliver wider economic and workforce benefits beyond weight loss alone, potentially reducing pressure on overstretched primary care services.

“We often focus only on weight-loss outcomes,” said Lucy Jones, RD, MRes, chief clinical officer at Oviva, a UK-based digital health company delivering remote NHS weight management and diabetes care programmes. “But these findings suggest obesity treatment may also influence employment, productivity, healthcare utilisation, and broader economic participation. They also show how many healthcare contacts were unplanned and driven by worsening symptoms rather than routine disease management.”

Jones told Medscape News UK that several factors are likely driving the findings, including weight loss itself, possible anti-inflammatory effects of GLP-1 therapies, and multidisciplinary behavioural support helping patients manage symptoms and remain engaged with treatment.

“The digital model improves access by reducing barriers such as travel and time away from work, while also providing continuity of care beyond episodic appointments,” she said.

“That combination of accessible, individualised care is likely central to the broad benefits we observed,” she added.

Jones presented the findings at the 33rd European Congress on Obesity (ECO) 2026.

Evaluations Beyond Weight Loss

The analysis included 1270 adults enrolled in Oviva’s NHS-funded digitally delivered tier 3 obesity management programme for severe or complex obesity across England. Participants had a mean BMI of 45, 87% were women, and many were from socioeconomically deprived backgrounds.

The service, delivered remotely through a multidisciplinary team including endocrinologists, dietitians, psychologists, and nurses, uses an app-based platform incorporating evidence-based behaviour change techniques such as self-monitoring, feedback, social support, and education.

The study evaluated changes in weight, healthcare utilisation, sick leave, and work participation over 9 months using validated questionnaires at baseline and 9 months.

Clinically meaningful weight loss was achieved with semaglutide over the study period, with mean weight loss of 12.4% and 72% of participants achieving ≥ 10% weight reduction by 9 months.

However, investigators said some of the most striking findings related to healthcare resource use and employment. Face-to-face GP visits fell by 43%, while remote GP contacts declined by 48% over the 9-month period. In addition, the proportion of participants reporting no GP contact increased by 63%.

“It wasn’t simply that face-to-face appointments shifted to remote consultations,” Jones said. “Both types of GP contact reduced substantially.”

She noted that many patients entering obesity services require frequent primary care input because of pain, breathlessness, sleep apnoea, hypertension, mental health concerns, and metabolic complications associated with obesity.

Work participation and sickness absence also showed improvements. The proportion of participants reporting no sick leave increased by 19%, while long-term sick leave lasting at least 5 days fell by 56%. Total sick leave days declined by 45%.

Jones said, reductions in long-term sickness absence may be particularly important, because prolonged work absence often predicts permanent worklessness or early retirement due to ill health. She added that “If you can reduce long-term sick leave in a clinically complex obesity population, the wider economic implications could be substantial.”

“We also believe the wider benefits of obesity treatment remain underestimated because they are not routinely measured,” Jones said. “With around 148 million sick days taken annually in the UK, we may be missing an opportunity to improve not only health, but also economic productivity.”

Using modelling support from the Ellison Institute of Technology and based on 3.4 million adults eligible for GLP-1 therapy in the UK according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the investigators extrapolated that the results could lead to potential savings of nearly 9.8 million GP appointments annually, equivalent to approximately £364 million in NHS savings.

Not Just a Health Issue

The investigators emphasised that the findings represent interim real-world data rather than results from a randomised controlled trial. They also noted that the analysis captured a snapshot at 9 months and longer-term follow-up is ongoing. Still, Jones argued the results highlight the potential for digitally enabled obesity treatment programmes to address clinical and healthcare system pressures.

“Obesity is not just a health issue; it is also an economic and workforce issue,” Jones said. “We need to think about the impact on employment, productivity, and healthcare demand as well as weight loss itself.”

The team plans to present longer-term findings in future analyses examining whether reductions in healthcare use and sickness absence are sustained over 2 years.

Commenting on the data, co-moderator of the session Alper Sonmez, MD, emeritus professor of endocrinology at the University of Health Sciences in Ankara, Türkiye, said, “From all these talks, it’s clear there is significant momentum globally around using digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and wearable technologies to improve obesity care. The data presented suggest these approaches may be beneficial not only for weight loss, but also for sleep, well-being, patient satisfaction, and potentially healthcare efficiency.”

Referring specifically to the UK findings, Sonmez noted that digital obesity programmes may also have important implications for healthcare systems such as the NHS. “The NHS is under enormous pressure, particularly in primary care,” he said. “So approaches that can improve outcomes while also reducing healthcare utilisation and costs.”

The study was conducted by investigators from Oviva UK and the Ellison Institute of Technology. Jones reported being an employee of Oviva. Sonmez reported having no relevant financial relationships.