UK ambulances are called to diet emergencies every five hours, according to a new study. Medics warn that weight loss treatments including Brazilian butt lifts, cosmetic fat-burning injectable Lemon Bottle, flab dissolvers, and jabs can seriously damage health.
Ambulance Callouts Surge
Between 2020 and 2025, ambulances attended 9,395 callouts linked to weight loss treatments, equating to one every 5 hours and 35 minutes. The London Ambulance Service responded to the most emergencies, with 8,240 callouts since 2020. The North East Ambulance Service saw a 91% surge in callouts since 2020.
On average, 34 illegal or unregulated weight-loss and diabetes medications are seized at UK borders every day, according to Freedom of Information requests to 14 ambulance services by online doctor website ZAVA.
Risks of Brazilian Butt Lifts
Brazilian butt lifts, designed to increase buttock size via fat transfer or synthetic fillers, pose significant risks. The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons advises members not to perform the procedure unless suitably trained, under ultrasound guidance, and in regulated premises due to anatomical complexity. Complications include sepsis, severe bleeding, fat embolus, and can be life-threatening.
Over 500 Brits have sought help from government-backed cosmetic watchdog Save Face for complications from liquid butt lifts, with 50% reporting sepsis and 39% needing corrective surgery.
Unregulated Products and Pop-Up Clinics
Pop-up clinics across the UK offer dangerous non-surgical procedures, leading to complications and deaths. A ZAVA spokesman said: “The average Brit will start and fail 189 diets in their lifetime with three diets tried every year. More than 45 million Brits - 66% - are overweight or obese.” He added that 1.6 million have used weight-loss jabs in the past year.
Medics noted that the number of 999 diet calls fell last year due to a reduction in unsafe weight-loss treatment administration and easier access to prescribed tools such as jabs.
