New weight loss drugs promise to reduce the 650 deaths and 12,000 hospitalisations a year in Hunter-New England from people being overweight or obese.
These hospitalisations rose by about 30 per cent in a decade in the Hunter district, but the emergence of drugs Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro are giving people hope.
It was announced on Wednesday that the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) had approved the drug Mounjaro for "chronic weight management".
Mounjaro - with its main ingredient tirzepatide - is sold by pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly Australia.
The drug was approved for use with "a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity".
It was previously approved only for people with type 2 diabetes.
The decision follows the TGA saying last month that a new brand of semaglutide, also sold as Ozempic, was available in Australia from last month.
This new brand, named Wegovy, was also available for "chronic weight management".
The drugs are available on private prescription, but not through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
Wegovy and Mounjaro are expected to cost about $315 to $645 a month, depending on the strength.
Clare Collins, a University of Newcastle diet and nutrition expert, said weight-related hospitalisations and deaths would fall as these drugs were widely used.
"But Mounjaro being approved doesn't mean it's affordable and available," Professor Collins said.
"The approval is a step in the right direction for people living with chronic and severe complications of obesity."
Professor Collins said this complex obesity was happening in people "genetically predisposed" to developing the disease.
Max Mollenkopf, a GP who owns Whitebridge Medical Centre, said weight-loss medications weren't "a magic bullet".
"The long-term data with weight-loss medications is that people put the weight back on when they come off them," he said.
"That's unless they undergo significant lifestyle changes. That is, doing the hard yards of diet and exercise.
"For some people, there is absolutely a role for these medications to reduce obesity and help them get on the right path."
Dr Mollenkopf said the medications weren't available for a lot of patients.
"We continue to have supply chain challenges," he said.
"And the people who need them most are often the ones who can afford them least."
Mounjaro works to reduce weight by mimicking two different hormones that give "feelings of fullness and regulate blood sugar levels".
Professor Collins said it was good that people could consider side effects and make a choice between different weight-loss medications.
She said Mounjaro was showing greater weight-loss in trials than Ozempic, which was exciting for those suffering "severe obesity".
"Some big snack food companies in the US are already reporting reduced sales. The most disgusting thing is they're already looking to make small sizes to push their products."
Professor Collins said it was estimated that about 10 per cent of people in the US and Canada were using weight-loss drugs.
About 27 per cent of adults in the Hunter New England district were living with obesity last year, and about 37 per cent were overweight.
Additionally, about 29 per cent of children were overweight or obese, 5 per cent above the state rate.
University of Sydney Associate Professor Samantha Hocking said many people did not feel comfortable discussing their weight with healthcare professionals "due to stigma".
She said there were misconceptions about weight.
"Eating less and moving more are simply not enough to help many people achieve a healthier weight long-term," she said.
"By challenging over-simplified and outdated views, we can remove the unnecessary blame that is often assigned to excess weight."
She said excess weight increased a person's risk of at least 30 diseases, including cancer, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
"Even a 5 per cent reduction in weight can lower a person's risk of obesity-related complications," she said.
