I put my 11-year-old daughter on fat jabs after she got bullied for her weight – people judge me but I don't care
Ashley Hamilton appeared on Monday's instalment of This Morning via video call from Idaho, US, and opened up to Dermot O'Leary and Alison Hammond about why her young daughter was using the injections.
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But it's not just Ashley's daughter Sophia who has taken the weight loss jabs to help her with their health - Ashley has too.
On yesterday's episode, the young girl opened up about her personal experience with her weight and bullying at school, which led her to approach her mum for help.
She said: 'The bullying was definitely not ideal at all, it was just very hard to deal with because I used to think I was pretty and now I can't look at myself in the mirror without hating myself.'
To this, Dermot asked: 'Ashley it's important to stress here, you have always instilled exercise, you've always instilled a good diet and it was just very, very difficult to keep the weight off.
'How hard was it for you to make that decision for Sophia to take the weight loss jabs?'
In response, Ashley admitted it 'wasn't hard at all'.
She added: 'When she came to me and asked if this would work for her I told her yes, but we have to get your blood work done and your labs done to make sure there is an underlying problem, because if there was nothing showing right then that is something that we would've said, 'Okay, this is diet and exercise type of thing'.
'But it wasn't hard at all for me to decide that.'
The mother stressed that she had done research on the medications and continued: 'I knew that if she needed it this is what we were going to do.'
When Sophia began to take the jabs, she soon noticed her mum had to remind her 'constantly' to eat.
Sun Health Explainer: Fat jabs
Despite this, now she can wear clothes similar to her pals, as she added: 'And then I started to lose weight and then I started to realise I actually had a lot of inflammation in my face and arms and in my hands.
'Now I can wear normal sizes for my age.'
Following this, Alison asked Ashley if she had received any backlash for her decision to take weight loss injections.
To this, the mum admitted: 'A lot of people deal with backlash on social media from people but for me it's actually been more in my real life.
'Dealing with people who I can tell are judging me but it doesn't bother me.
'It's a way for me to educate more people on what the reason is that I started.'
Sophia is now no longer on the injections and during the conversation, This Morning's resident GP Dr Zoe Williams shared her thoughts.
Dr Zoe acknowledged: 'The thing to consider, Sophia's a perfect example of this, Sophie already had insulin resistance and her blood work was showing that she had pre-diabetes.
Everything you need to know about fat jabs
Weight loss jabs are all the rage as studies and patient stories reveal they help people shed flab at almost unbelievable rates, as well as appearing to reduce the risk of serious diseases.
Wegovy – a modified version of type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic – and Mounjaro are the leading weight loss injections used in the UK.
Wegovy, real name semaglutide, has been used on the NHS for years while Mounjaro (tirzepatide) is a newer and more powerful addition to the market.
Mounjaro accounts for most private prescriptions for weight loss and is set to join Wegovy as an NHS staple this year.
How do they work?
The jabs work by suppressing your appetite, making you eat less so your body burns fat for energy instead and you lose weight.
They do this my mimicking a hormone called GLP-1, which signals to the brain when the stomach is full, so the drugs are officially called GLP-1 receptor agonists.
They slow down digestion and increase insulin production, lowering blood sugar, which is why they were first developed to treat type 2 diabetes in which patients' sugar levels are too high.
Can I get them?
NHS prescriptions of weight loss drugs, mainly Wegovy and an older version called Saxenda (chemical name liraglutide), are controlled through specialist weight loss clinics.
Typically a patient will have to have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, classifying them as medically obese, and also have a weight-related health condition such as high blood pressure.
GPs generally do not prescribe the drugs for weight loss.
Private prescribers offer the jabs, most commonly Mounjaro, to anyone who is obese (BMI of 30+) or overweight (BMI 25-30) with a weight-related health risk.
Private pharmacies have been rapped for handing them out too easily and video calls or face-to-face appointments are now mandatory to check a patient is being truthful about their size and health.
Are there any risks?
Yes – side effects are common but most are relatively mild.
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.
Evidence has so far been inconclusive about whether the injections are damaging to patients' mental health.
Figures obtained by The Sun show that, up to January 2025, 85 patient deaths in the UK were suspected to be linked to the medicines.
'What you always have to consider is the risks and potential risks of a medication but weigh that against the risks and potential risks of doing nothing.
"Wen you've tried all the sensible things - the exercise, the changes to eating, the psychological approach - for some people like Sophia and her mum it's a genetic thing.
'Your genes predispose you to having problems with your weight.
'In Sophia's case it seems it's been really helpful for her.'
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