Only three per cent of obese adults given weight loss treatment by NHS
JUST three per cent of obese adults have gotten help from the NHS to slim down , research has found.
GP records of 1.8 million officially diagnosed with obesity reveal that only 56,783 of received treatment between 2007 and 2020.
And just 3,701 — one per cent — had slimming surgery.
There are more than ten million overweight adults in England, the NHS says — with experts predicting that will rise to 42 million by 2040.
Dr Karen Coulmon, of Bristol University, who did the study, said: “Access to weight management has not improved over the last ten years, despite obesity rates continuing to rise.
"Weight management interventions in England need improvement.”
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Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, said: “We need to teach people how not to become overweight in the first place.”
People with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher qualify for the ops – between 18 and 25 is healthy.
The study, in the journal Plos Medicine, also flagged “marked regional differences” with people in the West Midlands and London most likely to get help.