NHS weight-loss stomach surgery on obese people doubles in two years

The number of cases of weight-loss stomach surgery performed on obese people by the NHS more than doubled between 2006/7 and 2008/09, a report from The NHS Information Centre shows today.

The NHS performed 4,220 bariatric procedures (which include stomach stapling, gastric bypasses and sleeve gastrectomy) on obese people in 2008/09 compared to 1,950 in 2006/07.

The figure also represents a 55 per cent increase on 2007/08 when 2,724 obese people underwent such procedures.

Statistics on obesity, physical activity and diet: England 2010 includes new analysis on the health outcomes of people who are overweight and obese as well as a summary of already published diet, exercise and weight-related information.

Among its new data, the report shows:

  • The number of people admitted to hospital with a primary diagnosis of obesity increased by nearly 60 per cent between 2007/08 and 2008/09, rising from 5,020 to 7,990. The 2008/09 figure is eight times higher than in 1998/9 (950).
  • The number of prescription items dispensed to treat obesity was 1.28 million in 2008 – ten times higher than it was in 1999 (127,000).

Chief executive of The NHS Information Centre Tim Straughan said: “This report highlights the impact of obesity not just on society, but on the NHS. The figures show a clear rise in hospital admissions, surgical procedures and drug therapies to help people tackle their obesity.”

The report is at: www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/opad10

Regional information is available from this report.

ENDS

Notes to editors

  1. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care (The IC) is England's authoritative, central, independent source of health and social care information. It works with a wide range of health and social care providers nationwide to provide the facts and figures that help the NHS and social services run effectively. Its role is to collect data, analyse it and convert it into useful information which helps providers improve their services and supports academics, researcher, regulators and policymakers in their work. The NHS IC also produces a wide range of statistical publications each year across a number of areas including: primary care, health and lifestyles, screening, hospital care, population and geography, social care and workforce and pay statistics.
  2. Statistics on obesity, physical activity and diet: England: 2010 is a compendium of available data on prevalence of obesity and patterns of physical activity and diet. It includes new data on hospital admissions and prescriptions for obesity.
  3. The term "bariatric surgery" is often used to define a group of procedures that can be performed to facilitate weight loss although these procedures can be performed for conditions other than weight loss. It includes stomach stapling, gastric bypasses and sleeve gastrectomy.
  4. As this report includes information from a range of sources, the definition of obesity may vary very slightly. However in general terms obesity is defined by an adult's Body Mass Index (BMI), which is determined using a calculation of the person's weight and height. A Normal weight is seen as a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9kg/m2; Overweight as a BMI of between 25-29.9kg/m2 and Obesity as a BMI of 30kg/m2 or greater. A BMI cannot be used in the same way for children.
  5. Due to differences in growth rates, it is not possible to apply a universal formula in calculating the levels of obese and overweight children. The UK National BMI percentile classification is therefore used which gives a BMI threshold for each age above which a child is considered overweight or obese. The thresholds are calculated using the 1990 BMI reference data. The overweight threshold is the 85th percentile of the data set. The obese threshold is the 95th percentile of the data set. Therefore those children within the 85th to 95th percentile are classified as overweight and those above the 95th percentile are classified as obese. The percentiles are given for each gender and age.
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