the number of people using Reductil and Xenical has also increased

The obesity time bomb is exploding according to new figures issued by the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. The number of people who had surgery to deal with weight loss, paid for by the National Health Service is up 40 percent from last year. Surgeries including gastric bypasses, stomach staplings and sleeve gastrectomies are becoming almost routine to deal with very overweight individuals in the UK. 

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) which evaluates many of the procedures carried out by the National Health Service said that these measures were “drastic” and should only be carried out as the very last resort. Nevertheless around 2,700 stomachs surgeries were carried out to treat obesity last year on the NHS which does not include figures for those operations carried out in private hospitals. The number of men and women being admitted to hospital for suffering from obesity is also up 30 percent and the number of people using weight loss medications Reductil and Xenical has also increased significantly.

Prof Philip James speaking on behalf of the International Association for the Study of Obesity claims that there is a concern that many patients are opting for weight loss surgery as a “quick fix” for their weight problem. The National Health Service he said, could not cope with the demand that was being created by the number of overweight and obese individuals.

Some people believe that if this trend of increasing obesity continues in the United Kingdom the National Health Service would eventually face bankruptcy. They argue that unless something is done now to help obese adults and to educate children about the importance of eating healthily in the future a productivity deficit in the United Kingdom will occur.

At Ukmedix News we have written on numerous occasions about how the British government is not doing enough to prevent its citizens from becoming obese. The British people and the British government should be aware that unless something is done soon we will all end up paying for the problem. Obesity is a huge drain on the finances of a nation as well as something which undermines the wellbeing and happiness of families.

The British government must understand that the time to act is NOW and very far reaching and revolutionary measures need to be taken to stop the upward rising statistics of obesity.