The National Obesity Surgery Centre

85% of people in Wales will be obese by the year 2019. That is the dire prediction, unless we take drastic action now.

Wales has some of the highest rates of childhood obesity in the world and is the fattest nation in the UK, with 57% of adults classed as overweight or obese.  Research by Swansea University in 2005 found 8% of girls and 5% of boys are obese by the age of five. 22% of 13 year old boys and 16% of girls are classed as overweight or obese.

Medics warn that Wales is in the grip of a complex eating disorder that is shortening lives. Professor John Baxter is president of the Obesity Society and he says “It is hard for health commissioners to extend obesity surgery services because it is unpopular with the public. There is prejudice against obesity. The lay population’s view is ‘it’s their own fault. Why should we spend money on fat people?’ Until you get a better understanding of obesity it’s going to be difficult.” To those who say people must eat less, Professor Baxter says diets only work in the short term. “People need long term help and sometimes medical intervention. Obesity is a problem we don’t fully understand.”

Wales Online

NOSC View

This is an interesting report that clearly shows the extent of the obesity problem in Wales. Yet again it would seem that gastric balloon and gastric band procedures are low on the list of healthcare priorities. People of normal size cannot understand the complexities of weight loss and there is often an opinion that ‘fat people are lazy and have no self -discipline.’ In our experience this is usually far from the truth. Obesity is a chronic disease of which we have a limited understanding. The more that people try to lose weight, the worse the problem becomes. This is the reason that people opt for bariatric surgery as a means to gaining life long control.

Obese patients in Manchester have been told that they do not qualify for weight loss surgery because they are not fat enough.

Patients used to be eligible if their BMI was over 40 but the limit has now been raised to a BMI of 50. This decision has upset patients who thought they were eligible but have now been told they cannot have surgery.

Jacquie Coleman, 53, from Manchester, was recommended for surgery after she she hit 16 stone. She has shown her commitment to a change in lifestyle by working with a dietician to lose a stone in weight. Now she has been told she cannot have surgery, even though she can’t exercise because of arthritis in her knees. She has diabetes and is currently waiting for a second knee replacement.

A spokesman from the Greater Manchester Public Health Network said “Surgery should be rationed. We have a limited amount of resources and we have to prioritise services.” 

Manchester Evening News

NOSC View

As the obesity epidemic escalates, more and more people will attempt to access treatment via the NHS. Providing surgery to people with a BMI over 40 is a costly business. However, if the NHS don’t pay up now, they will have to pay up in the future, when the inevitable effects of obesity become apparent. We will see a rise in diabetes, joint replacement surgery, cardiac and many other debilitating conditions.

Like any other business the NHS has to budget for its provision of services. How it chooses to proportionally fund these services will remain a very difficult choice.