Obesity Crisis among Britons to Cost £20billion

Obesity Crisis among Britons to Cost £20billionSubmitted by Dinesh Chandra Gaur on Sat, 01/18/2014 - 08:30 

Growing obesity rates are not worrisome for sufferers only, but for the economy too. Well, this is what a study has figured out, suggesting that more than two million people fulfill the eligibility criteria of undergoing expensive weight-loss surgery. It means if they all go for the surgery, £20billion would have to be spent to carry the surgery on them.
Medical experts have warned that it is high time to take actions to battle obesity crisis, otherwise it will have massive impact on the budget of NHS.
Weight loss operations are performed in the NHS on those whose life is at risk because of suffering with potentially life-threatening obesity. Such operations comprise gastric band or gastric bypass surgery.
Every year, nearly 8,000 people undergo those operations, which cost up to £11,000 each. But now, researchers from Imperial College London have come with something that could make the situation even worse.     According to them, more than five percent if adults are eligible for surgery as the nation is increasingly becoming fatter. This means, 2.1 million people in England fulfill the criteria of having weight loss surgery to be performed on them.

Lead researcher Dr. Sonia Saxena said, “Due to the limited capacity of health services to meet demand under existing ­criteria, greater investment into service provision may be required to meet a growing need”.