Offshore workers take weight loss jabs ahead of helicopter flight restrictions

Hundreds of offshore workers are using weight-loss injections to comply with new maximum weight limits for helicopter flights, BBC News reported. Starting on Sunday, any person who weighs more than 19 stone 7 pounds, or 124 kilograms, while wearing civilian clothing and footwear will be barred from flying to an offshore platform subject to United Kingdom safety regulations. [1]

Trade body Offshore Energies UK stated that around 2,200 workers exceeded the weight limit when the rules were first announced last year, BBC News reported. That number has now dropped to fewer than 250 workers ahead of the deadline. [1]

Weight-loss medications are also impacting other industries. As FTMQ News reported earlier, brewer Heineken warned British pubs and bars that GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy lessen the desire to drink alcohol, which could lead to reduced beer and cider sales. [4]

The term offshore describes locations seaward from the coastline, where electricity can be generated by wind farms built at sea. [2][3]