New figures show cost of obesity

The Department of Health has announced the publication of new statistics revealing the cost of obesity to primary care trusts (PCTs) in the UK.

According to research published in last year’s Foresight report, the cost of being overweight or obese costs the NHS a total of 4.2 billion pounds each year, with this potentially rising to 6.3 billion pounds in 2015.

The Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives toolkit breaks down this amount for each PCT and offers a guide to local authorities to help tackle the problem in their areas.

It notes many parents do not recognise their children are overweight, while underestimating how much unhealthy and convenience food they purchase.

Furthermore, it found 62 per cent of adults are not aware of the link between obesity and heart disease while 94 per cent do not know of the link between being overweight and cancer.

Dawn Primarolo, public health minister, said: “Obesity is the biggest health challenge we face – every year 9,000 people die prematurely.”

She added the UK is leading the world in terms of facing up to this problem while the government is looking to help change the way people live their lives to prevent obesity and diseases related to the condition.

Earlier this month, the Department of Health announced a grant to help address obesity levels in Shropshire.