Weight-loss jabs are set to be prescribed on apps by the NHS under new plans to tackle the obesity crisis.  

As many as 50,000 people could benefit from new online clinics with hospitals “unable to keep up with demand” for the injections.

Ministers believe weight-loss drugs are a crucial weapon in tackling Britain’s obesity epidemic with two in three people classed as overweight or obese. Excess weight is estimated to cost the economy £27 billion a year in health care and benefits for the out of work.

People being referred to specialist weight-management services will have the option to skip the waiting list for in-person treatment and access them online under the new proposals published on Tuesday by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice).

Doctors will be able to prescribe weight-loss drugs through the app and patients will also receive access to meal planning and mental health support.

Health chiefs say that face-to-face services “are unable to keep up with demand” and “waiting lists are long, some areas don’t have a service, and patients need a solution”.

Experts estimate that as many as seven in 10 people do not have access to a local specialist weight-management service in their area due to an uneven distribution across the country.