They might be a new weapon in the war against Britain’s bulging waistlines. 

But Prue Leith isn’t a fan of revolutionary weight-loss jabs like Ozempic.

The Great British Bake Off judge said the injections ‘take the joy out of life’ and should only be used by people who desperately need to lose weight.

While acknowledging the jabs had their place for Brits with ‘chronic’ obesity, she said people would be better off learning to love healthier food. 

‘It’s the wrong answer because you have to go on jabbing yourself for the rest of your life and that can’t be entirely good,’ she told The Times Health Commission summit.

‘You’re taking the joy out of life. It would be better if you could just get to love food that is good for you.’ 

Prue Leith said the injections ‘take the joy out of life’ and should only be used by people who are desperate

Drugs like Ozempic help people lose weight by mimicking a hormone that tricks them into feeling full

Experts have warned that Wegovy is not a ‘magic pill’. Trials have shown that users can rapidly pile pounds back on once they stop taking it, and it can trigger a side-effects including nausea, constipation and diarrhoea

Prue, 83, instead said the nation’s fight against flab would be better served by teaching school children how to cook healthy and delicious meals. 

‘The only way we’ll stop children going for something that is easy and delicious is by getting them to love good food. It’s easy to do,’ she said. 

Ozempic, and its sister drug Wegovy, have the same active ingredient semaglutide.

They work by mimicking a natural hormone that makes the body feel full, reducing how much people eat and therefore helping them lose weight. 

Both drugs are made by Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk, with Ozempic designed to specifically help patients with diabetes. 

Wegovy, on the other hand, is formulated specifically for weight loss, but supply hasn’t kept up with demand, prompting shortages of Ozempic.

This has had a knock-on effect on diabetes patients who have struggled to secure regular supplies of their medication as a result.   

Other weight-loss jabs that work in a similar way are also coming onto the market. 

Mounjaro, also known as tirzepatide and nicknamed the King Kong’ of weight loss jabs, is set to become available within weeks in Britain. 

Ministers have hailed the jabs as a revolutionary way to tackle obesity, which costs the NHS and wider society billions of pounds per year.

But they’re not without their downsides.

As Prue highlighted, patients have to take the jabs for life or see the pounds pile back on as a result.

Secondly, like any medication, they can have side effects that vary in both frequency and severity.

These include nausea, constipation and diarrhoea, fatigue, stomach pain, headaches and dizziness.

Weirder and much rarer side effects, like hair loss, have also been reported. 

The latest data for England shows almost two thirds of adults are too fat, compared to just half in the mid-90s. 

Almost one in 10 children are obese by the time they start primary school.