A new multimillion pound programme to test new obesity services and treatments, funded in part by the weight loss drug manufacturer Eli Lilly, could be seen as “marketing by another name,” public health experts have warned. This month NHS England and the UK government’s science and health departments announced that the new programme, backed by £85m in funding, could see patients access weight management care “through new routes like digital platforms, local community-based access, and pharmacies” as early as summer 2026.1 They said that the care might include wraparound services, digital services, and “potentially, obesity treatments, for eligible patients as clinically appropriate.” The announcement said that although the government will provide £50m of the funding, £35 million in grant funding will come from Lilly, the manufacturer of the popular weight loss drug tirzepatide (Mounjaro). NHS organisations will be able to put forward proposals and apply for a share of this funding. But experts have warned that the investment risks failing to tackle the root causes of obesity and that the funding must be scrutinised. Piotr Ozieranski, a social and policy sciences senior lecturer at the University of Bath, told The BMJ that industry and NHS health initiative co-funding …