Timpson chief executive Lord James Timpson says his shops have recorded a 680 per cent increase in customers requesting extra belt holes, which he attributes to people losing weight while using medicines such as Mounjaro, Wegovy and Ozempic. The claim highlights the growing visibility of weight-loss treatments, while also prompting discussion about access to such medicines through the NHS.

Timpson said the increase was observed over the past 12 months, although the company has not established that weight-loss injections were definitively responsible. Around 2.4 million people in the UK are estimated to have prescriptions for weight-loss medicines, most obtained privately because NHS access is restricted; the National Pharmacy Association called for wider use of community pharmacies to improve availability for eligible patients.