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"Can't be the first option": Dave Letele raises concerns over publicly funding weightloss drugs

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Fri, 7 Nov 2025, 11:28am
Photo / Cydni Elledge
Photo / Cydni Elledge

"Can't be the first option": Dave Letele raises concerns over publicly funding weightloss drugs

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Fri, 7 Nov 2025, 11:28am

Publicly funding weightloss drugs may not be the answer to the country’s obesity problem.  

New Zealand has the third highest adult obesity rate in the OECD, with one in three adults classified as obese, and one in ten children.  

Associate Minister of Health David Seymour believes publicly funding things like Wegovy would help save money in the long run. 

But community leader and Founder of Butterbean Motivation, Dave Letele told Kerre Woodham that we can’t prescribe our way out of this issue. 

While he's not against weightloss drugs, he says they don’t change habits, mindsets, and they don’t break cycles for children.  

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