Huge rise in weight-loss operations
Friday 27th August 2010, 6:51AM BST.
Health experts have warned of obesity’s “overwhelming” burden on the NHS as figures showed a 785 per cent rise in weight-loss surgery.
Some doctors are “skirting around the rules” and not insisting on months of lifestyle change and pharmaceutical treatment before allowing patients to undergo surgery, specialists said.
Operations carried out for the most obese people in England soared over the past five years, according to the NHS Information Centre.
Data for 2003/04 showed there were 480 procedures, rising to 4,246 in 2008/09.
Tam Fry, from the National Obesity Forum, said: “These figures just show how bad things have got with the obesity epidemic.
“We have alternative ways of losing weight but when people realise this is a possibility, they could go for it.
“A lot of doctors are also starting to skirt around the rules and not insist on months of lifestyle change and pharmaceutical treatment – instead they are going straight for surgery.”
Peter Sedman, bariatric surgeon and spokesman for the Royal College of Surgeons, said: “The number of morbidly obese patients in the UK is increasing rapidly and we need to continue to put even more resources into what is proven to be a successful and cost-effective method of treatment.
“The burden on the NHS in years to come in obesity-related illness will otherwise be overwhelming.”
The upward trend of operations suggests figures for 2010 could be even higher.
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I think anything self inflicted should be paid for by the patient. Unless the cause of the weight gain is medically related (which I know some times it is) then weight-loss operations fall under this category.
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What about smoking should all the duty raised from tobacco go to paying for smoking related illnesses? The duty raised from smoking far outstrips the costs of treating smokers, I’d assume that’s the main reason it’s not banned!!
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Pretty much. The government may seem stupid at time but they are not. Same reason that they keep hinting at the fat tax on fatty food rather than ban fatty foods.
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This is outrageous!!
Agree with no 1, unless the weight gain is due to a medical condition then these opertions should be paid for by the patient.
The self-inflicted fat people have brought this upon themselves due to a poor diet and excessive eating, followed by a lack of exercise.
It would make interesting reading if the figures were available to see how many opertions are related to medical condition verses gorging. Yet again, just like their approach to life the fat people go for the easy, lazy option.
I wouldn’t be surprised that those who have gobe for the easy option have gained weight within a year of having the operation! It really is outrageous.
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Garbage anti fatty reporting I would expect from the playground.
This is still a very small number of people.
The operation is inherantly dangerous and kills a proportion of those having it.
It is only used on extreme cases who clearly have a medical problem and are not lardy or even very obese.
They pay taxes like anyone else and the principle of the NHS is they should be entitled to medical care.
As for the joke self inflicted argument, so is smoking related, alcohol related, drugs related, driving related, sports related, maternity, are you seriously suggesting they are all not on the NHS, or is it just your bigotry against fatsos?
And no I or any of my family or friends don’t personally need any such surgery and yes I go private so I pay my taxes for your healthcare and not for my own.
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Jonathan, it is self-inflicted along with the other examples you offer. Therefore, it isn’t a joke it is a FACT! Or has someone beed forcing them to eat copious amounts of food and not exercise?
You can’t try and defend the undefensible.
I was, at one time,fat and I lost it the old-fashioned way unlike the growing amount of fat people who go for these easy option because they are lazy, pure and simple.
I also gave up smoking without patches etc. the people today lack the willpower or discipline to personally change their lifestyle choices, fact.
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Say a 35 year old was on the verge of bieng declared disabled because of their weight and because of this they have to leave their job and live of benefits and because of their weight they get other illnesses and are in and out of hospital for the rest of their lives but if they have this surgery now they weight will reduce, they can work untill retirement are ailment free and no significant burden to the NHS. In the long term more of the surgery can save society as a whole a lot more money, I do get the it’s there own fault but we will end up in a situation where we bite off our nose to spite our face.
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