Hospital admissions for obesity problems up by more than 30pc

There were 10,571 NHS hospital admissions in 2009/10 where the main reason for treatment was that the person was obese.

The figure is more than 10 times the number in 1999/00 (979) and more than 30 per cent higher than in 2008/09 (7,988).

A report from the NHS Information Centre also revealed soaring numbers undergoing operations to help them lose weight and tens of thousands more people taking prescribed weight-loss pills.

In 2009/10, the number of bariatric surgery procedures in England reached 7,214, with women accounting for 80 per cent of the total.

This is up 70 per cent on the figure for 2008/09 of just over 4,200.

Of the most recent procedures, 1,444 were for maintenance of an existing gastric band and the operation was most common in the East Midlands and London.

In 2009, the number of prescription items dispensed for the treatment of obesity was 1.45 million – more than 11 times the number in 1999 (127,000) and up on the 1.28 million in 2008.

However, there are signs that obesity levels among adults may be stabilising, although it will take a few more years to see if this is a genuine downward trend.

Between 2008 and 2009, the percentage of obese men fell from 24 per cent to 22 per cent while the proportion of obese women fell from 25 per cent to 24 per cent.

Another 44 per cent of men and 33 per cent of women were regarded as overweight, according to the report.

Some 38 per cent of adults had a waist measurement which was too high, compared with 23 per cent in 1993. A waist circumference of over 35in (88cm) for women and more than 40in (102cm) for men is considered a health risk.

This pushes up the chances of health problems, including heart disease and diabetes.

Tim Straughan, chief executive of the NHS Information Centre, said: “This report shows the number of hospital admissions, procedures and prescriptions related to obesity are continuing to increase in England.

“Our hospital data shows hospital admissions in the last financial year topped 10,000 for the first time while bariatric procedures passed 7,000.”

Tam Fry, from the National Obesity Forum, said: “This is the second year in succession that rates have risen by 30 per cent and I would not be surprised if the figures for 2011/12 were similar.

“They will prove to those who wish to dismiss the severity of the obesity crisis just how bad it is, and the rise in bariatric surgery is particularly revealing.”