Over a million admitted to hospital for obesity-related treatment

New figures have revealed that there were over a million hospital admissions for obesity-related treatment in England in the year leading into the global pandemic.

The record number offers the clearest indication so far of the scale of the obesity problem as coronavirus started to spread across the UK.

Experts say the data should be a wake-up call for tackling obesity.

The NHS Digital figures show a 17 per cent rise in hospital admissions where obesity was a factor, compared with the previous 12 months. This amounts to nearly 150,000 more instances of people being admitted to hospital over the course of a year.

The University of Glasgow’s Naveed Sattar, professor of metabolic medicine, says obesity is “the strongest risk factor for type 2 diabetes”.

He went on to say “It’s a strong risk factor for heart disease, for heart failure, for lung disease, for kidney disease, for multiple other conditions.

“If we now add to that obesity is a strong risk factor for this acute viral pandemic which is killing people worldwide, then this is a wake-up call. Many health systems and governments really do now need to pay attention to obesity.

“We do need to tackle obesity and we need to take it seriously.”

Professor Stephen Powis, NHS England medical director, said “Today’s shocking figures are a growing sign of the nation’s obesity crisis which is putting hundreds of thousands of people at greater risk of becoming severely ill with Covid, as well as heart attacks, stroke, cancer and other deadly diseases.”

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Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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