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FAT CHANCE
I’m an unemployed ‘proud fatty’ – humiliating gimmicks to get us back to work are just a green light for vile trolls
One 22st dad-of-two has been rejected from over 140 jobs - and says it's nothing to do with his weight...
STROLLING through the supermarket wearing micro shorts and a skimpy top, size 22 Adele Hobkinson was enjoying her unemployed life.
But, as the mum-of-three went to add her copy of The Sun into her trolley, she was stopped in her tracks by the news of the government's plan to give jobless, overweight people free weight-loss jabs in order to "get them back to work".
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“Being fat does not mean you do not want to get a job," the 17st fat-fluencer tells us in an exclusive interview. "Fat people are not lazy.
"The government has lost the plot. It is discriminatory and plain wrong."
The Prime Minister recently revealed plans to use weight-loss injections, including WeGovy and Mounjaro, to kickstart a major back-to-work drive earlier this week.
Keir Starmer believes the jabs for the overweight and jobless could boost the British economy by "helping people back into work".
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He also claimed the move could alleviate strain on the NHS saying, "these drugs could be very important for our economy and for health."
But Adele, 43, from Nottingham, says the move is a dehumanising, knee-jerk reaction and will never work.
She says: "This plan assumes fat people do not want to work or cannot work. That is wrong.
“This plan will fat-shame people who have low self-esteem already. It green-lights fat-trolling.
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“People who are overweight will be scared to apply for benefits.
"It is the start of having a ‘weight limit’ for claiming unemployment cash. It is dehumanising."
Julia Hartley-Brewer slams government plan for NHS to offer free 'fat jabs' to tackle obesity crisis
Adele got her first job at 18 in an office, and worked in various places including a bookies, and in catering, until she had her first child in 2001.
"I gave up work to have my kids,” she continues. "I knew going back to work after more than a decade would be hard.
"I could not face the humiliation of visiting the job centre. I did not want to be humiliated.
“I chose to keep my self-confidence and self-esteem. If I had been offered the weight-loss jab at the job centre I would have walked out."
According to the government’s Obesity Profile, 63.8 percent of adults aged 18 years and over in England were estimated to be overweight or living with obesity in 2021-2022 - up by 0.5 per cent from 2020-2021.
And Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "Our widening waistbands are also placing a significant burden on our health service, costing the NHS £11 billion a year.
"It is holding back our economy.
"Illness caused by obesity causes people to take an extra four sick days a year on average, while many others are forced out of work all together."
'Fitter than people half my size'
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And, while Adele has a BMI of 45, meaning she's considered obese, she insists she's "fitter than so-called normal-sized people".
The TikTok star, who has over 600,000 followers, says: "People label me an obesity time bomb but I don't care. I am proud to be a fat-fluencer.
"I am ‘fit fat’ and fitter than so-called normal sized people. I spread fat positivity.
“I may be obese, but I am incredibly active and fitter than many people half my size."
Even if you are working and you are proud and plus-size, you will be taunted for being a lazy, employed fatty. It is terrifying.
Adele Hobkinson
Adele's TikTok and Instagram videos, showing her going to the supermarket, McDonald’s or the petrol station, wearing revealing outfits have attracted over 2.5 million likes.
But Adele has not always been so body confident and happy to flaunt her flab.
She was bullied from the age of five for being a big girl, taunted with names like "Fatso" and "Mrs Blobby" - and believes this new plan will make way for more trolls.
“The jabs for overweight jobless will reignite a new tidal wave of bullying and hate," she says. “Even if you are working and you are proud and plus-size, you will be taunted for being a lazy, employed fatty.
"It is terrifying for me."
Rejected from 146 jobs
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Dad-of-two Tony Phillips, from Newcastle, lost his job as a former assembly line worker, after the factory he was working at closed in 2022.
“I was forced to apply for universal credit and job seekers allowance to pay the rent and ensure my two boys, aged 14 and 13, have food and clothes,” says Tony, 47.
“It was humiliating enough signing on."
At 22st, Tony is considered obese but he's adamant his weight has nothing to do with his unemployment.
Being fat or plus-size is not the reason I am not getting work. It is a lack of jobs.
Tony Phillips
He says he's always been big since he left school at 15, and always been in full-time employment up until his last job.
He has applied for 146 jobs since being let go, but been rejected from them all, due to lack of training or his CV "not what they were looking for".
He continues: “I am a middle-aged bloke and the jobs I apply for are going to 20-year olds.
"My job for life has disappeared and I am having to retrain. I am happy to do that.
Everything you need to know about fat jabs
Weight loss jabs are a hot media topic at the moment, with hundreds of success stories from people who shed the pounds.
In March 2023, the NHS announced it would make Wegovy, a drug made by Danish firm Novo Nordisk, available on prescription to thousands of obese Brits.
It contains the drug semaglutide, which is said to have helped reality star Kim Kardashian and Twitter boss Elon Musk lose weight.
Wegovy, which helped a third of people reduce their weight by 20 per cent in trials, is now available from pharmacies like Boots.
How do they work?
The jabs work by suppressing your appetite, making you eat less and therefore lose weight.
To do this, semaglutide mimics the role of a natural hormone, called GLP-1.
GLP-1 is part of the signalling pathway that tells your body you have eaten, and prepares it to use the energy that comes from your food.
London GP and founder of , Dr Zoe Watson, said: “Your body naturally produces an appetite regulating hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1.
“These jabs work by regulating your appetite, which can lead to eating fewer calories and losing weight.”
Aren’t they diabetes drugs?
Semaglutide, the active drug in Wegovy, was originally sold under the name Ozempic specifically for diabetes patients.
But people started noticing it helped suppress their appetites, stopping them eating as much and helping them shed the pounds.
Novo Nordisk then developed Wegovy, which contains the same chemical but at higher doses specifically to aid weight loss.
Wegovy is not prescribed for diabetes patients.
Can I get them?
Wegovy is offered on prescription to obese adults given specialist weight loss treatment.
The NHS currently also offers a similar drug called Saxenda, or liraglutide.
Both are only available throught specialist weight management services, which means you have to be referred to clinics led by experts.
GPs can’t prescribe them on their own, Dr Watson said.
The jabs have to be taken as part of an overall programme to help with lifestyle changes and psychological support to get the best effect from the medication prescribed.
Are there any risks?
Like all medicines, the jabs do not come without side effects.
Around half of people taking the drug experience gut issues, including sickness, bloating, acid reflux, constipation and diarrhoea.
Dr Sarah Jarvis, GP and clinical consultant at patient.info, said: “One of the more uncommon side effects is severe acute pancreatitis, which is extremely painful and happens to one in 500 people.”
Other uncommon side effects include altered taste, kidney problems, allergic reactions, gallbladder problems and hypoglycemia.
What other options are there?
Mounjaro (brand name for tirzepatide) also came onto the market in early 2024.
Like Wegovy, tirzepatide stems from a drug originally designed to treat diabetes.
The weekly injection helped overweight people drop more than two stone in 18 months.
It is available with to order with a prescription online from pharmacies including Superdrug and LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor.
It works in a similar way to Wegovy and Saxenda, but is more effective.
Dr Mitra Dutt from says: “Based on clinical trials, 96 per cent of people were able to lose more than five per cent of their body fat using Mounjaro. In similar trials, 84 per cent of people lost more than five per cent of their body weight on Wegovy, and 60 per cent on Saxenda.
“Mounjaro works by activating two hormonal receptors (GIP and GLP-1), which enhance insulin production, improve insulin sensitivity, and work to decrease food intake."
“I have been to over a dozen training courses organised by the job centre.
"Being fat or plus-size is not the reason I am not getting work. It is a lack of jobs.
"Being big has never stopped me having a job and a jab is not going to fix it.
“Just because people have a widening waistband does not mean they cannot or will not work. It is demonising plus-size people."
'I work harder than Gen-Z'
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Gran-of-three Dee Smith , 57, from Birmingham is unemployed and considered obese with a BMI of 46.
The former admin manager, who has a degree in business management, has been on unemployment benefits for 14 months after the company she worked for went under.
“I have never claimed benefits before. I feel like a failure," she says. "I refuse to face even more humiliation by getting a weight-loss injection."
Dee, who volunteers at a charity shop, has "lost count" of the number of jobs she's applied for.
And when one told her she lacked certain computing skills, she asked the job centre to send her on a course.
She says: "My weight isn't the reason I am not getting work. I just can’t take a minimum wage job.
"I work harder than Gen-Z staff. It’s people’s attitudes towards fat people. We are not the enemy."
Dee is adamant being forced to have a weight-loss jab to get a job will cause severe mental anxiety.
“It will have the opposite effect. Obese people with low self-esteem will be signed off with depression because of the jabs," she says.
“It's outrageous to target fat people in such a discriminatory way."
Adele, Tony and Dee all agree not enough is known about the long-term impact of the new weight-loss jabs.
Adele finishes: “The government wants to use overweight jobless as guinea pigs. We are not having it.
"There is a better way to use government funds in the battle to get people back to work.”
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