Petition: Make Mounjaro Accessible on the NHS for Women with Lipedema

To: NHS England, NICE, and the UK Government

We are calling for urgent and equitable access to medications such as Mounjaro for women diagnosed with Lipedema, a chronic, progressive, inflammatory disease that affects almost exclusively women and is widely misclassified as obesity.

Lipedema is not caused by overeating or poor lifestyle choices. It is a medically recognised condition characterised by painful, inflammatory, cystic fat that does not respond to diet or exercise. Despite years of calorie restriction, lifestyle changes, and repeated dieting, women with Lipedema are unable to reduce this disease-driven fat through conventional means.

For many of us, Mounjaro is the first treatment that has made a real, measurable difference. It has been shown to:

Reduce systemic inflammation
Reduce Lipedema-related fat and limb heaviness
Improve mobility and pain levels
Reduce strain on joints and slow progression toward disability
Enable women to continue working and contributing to society

Blood results from patients show reductions in inflammatory markers, and real-life outcomes demonstrate improved quality of life and function.

Despite this, women with Lipedema are excluded from NHS access to these medications, while others who meet obesity criteria — often based on lifestyle-related weight gain — are eligible. This creates a deeply unfair system where women with a disease they did not choose are forced to pay hundreds of pounds every month privately simply to remain mobile and functional.

With the rising cost of living, private access is becoming impossible for many. Without treatment, women face rapid deterioration, increased pain, joint damage, early arthritis, and eventual loss of employment — placing far greater long-term strain on the NHS, social care, and welfare systems.

There is currently no Lipedema surgery available on the NHS. Many women are forced to spend tens of thousands of pounds travelling abroad for liposuction to prevent disease progression. Even basic management tools, such as compression garments, are increasingly difficult to access.

Women with Lipedema feel ignored, dismissed, and told to “put up and shut up.” Other health conditions linked to lifestyle factors rightly receive compassion and treatment — yet women with a genetic, inflammatory disease are left without support.

We are asking for:

Inclusion of diagnosed Lipedema patients in NHS eligibility criteria for medications such as Mounjaro
Or reduced-cost access for women who require this medication for medical, not cosmetic, reasons
Formal recognition that Lipedema is a medical condition, not obesity

This petition is not about vanity or weight loss.

It is about preventing disability, reducing inflammation, preserving mobility, supporting working women, and treating Lipedema with the seriousness it deserves.

Please act now — before it is too late for thousands of women.