'Burden on NHS' as surgery for obesity rises by 50% in a year

The number of people having surgery on the NHS for obesity has rocketed, new figures show.

There has been a 52 per cent rise in stomach stapling operations and gastric bypasses, which stop patients being able to eat so much food.

Most of the operations, which are carried out on people with a Body Mass Index above 40, were performed on women.

Between May 2008 and April this year 4,324 people had anti-obesity operations, known as bariatric surgery.

More than 3,300 of them were women. In the previous year 2,838 people had the operations and more than 2,200 were women.

Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum said: "These figures are going to keep on rising because there are many more people out there eligible for bariatric surgery.

"This could be hugely detrimental to the NHS. Gastric surgery is a last ditch resort. We should concentrate on lifestyle change and using weight loss drugs.

"When obese people have this surgery they are tying up an operating theatre and surgeons and anaesthetists which may be needed by other patients."

He said bariatric surgery costs between £8,000 and £12,000 and often involves follow-up cosmetic surgery to get rid of excess skin.

Mr Fry added: "In the long term, these operations may benefit the NHS because people may not get diabetes or heart attacks, but we have to pay for them in the short term, which is a huge problem."

The NHS Information Centre, which published today's figures, also found the number of people with stab wounds being treated in hospital dropped by almost four per cent.