A recent study conducted in the UK has predicted that by 2025, obesity in the UK will cost the National Health Service £20bn per year, adding up to around 12% of the annual budget.
Whilst this may not seem much, it could be enough to bankrupt the National Health Service.
The study highlighted that within Europe, Britain are in the lead as the fattest nation. Professor Philip James, founder of the International Obesity Task Force, who created the report, said: “If levels of obesity rise in line with Government predictions, the NHS will no longer be able to afford to treat all of its patients.”
Even more worryingly if trends continue to come true, by 2050 over half of all women and two thirds of men in the UK will be classed as obese.
However, this trending is not just confined to the adult population – a quarter of UK children are now classed as obese and by 2025 it is suggested that almost half of boys under 16 and 38% of girls under 16 will be overweight.
Professor James, a former Government adviser on public health, said: “Obesity is the single biggest threat to our health service. These figures are shocking and highlight the need for radical action. Doctors and successive governments have grossly underestimated the huge health impact of this problem.”
Professor James also highlights that obesity will affect people’s work life due to joint problems and back pain, which will result in a weaker economy as more people take time off work.
By 2050 this could result in costing the UK an estimated £45bn; “everyone knows that the risk of heart attacks, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes and cancer, markedly accelerate among obese people but also there is a huge increase in problems like arthritis and backache,” said Professor James.
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