Britain’s bulging waistline drains billions of pounds from the NHS every year, spending twice as much on obese patients than on those of a healthy weight, a landmark study has revealed.
The cost per patient increases dramatically as people weigh more because they “accumulate obesity-related conditions” such as type 2 diabetes, cancer and heart disease, according to research involving nearly 2.5 million people.
The findings expose the huge strain of obesity on the NHS’s finances – suggesting that the health service could gain up to £13.7bn annually if people maintained a healthy weight.
And experts believe the total cost to the economy is much higher when the number of days lost to obesity-related diseases is taken into account.
Researchers from Imperial College London followed 2.4 million adults in North West London for ten years and analyzed how many hospital admissions, GP appointments and prescriptions they needed each year.
Britain’s bulging waistline drains billions of pounds from the NHS each year, spending twice as much on obese patients than on those of a healthy weight
One million patients, who were at a healthy weight with a body mass index (BMI) of 18 to 25, would cost the NHS an average of £638 each in 2019, the study’s final year.
By comparison, severely obese patients with a BMI of 40 and above cost more than double – £1,375 a year.
Meanwhile, the NHS spent £979 a year on obese patients with a BMI of 30 to 35, which increased to £1,178 a year for those with a BMI of 35-40.
A total of 400,002 patients were classified as obese, with another million classified as overweight but not obese, with a BMI of 25 to 30.
Those who are overweight cost an average of £756 a year – 19 per cent more than those who are healthy.
Dr. Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard, a public health scientist at Imperial College London and head of health analytics at the LCP consultancy that led the study, said it was the first of this scale to calculate costs based on BMI.
It found that as weight increased through BMI categories, health care resource use also increased incrementally, with hospital admissions ‘by far the biggest cost to the NHS’.
Much of the increased spending went not on obesity itself, but on treating conditions related to it, including heart disease, arthritis, cancer and type 2 diabetes.
“These costs are not just living with obesity, but all the different conditions it causes, such as heart disease, stroke, and back pain. People accumulate more and more obesity-related conditions over time,” he said.
“We know that obesity can cause a range of hospitalizations, including heart attacks, strokes and heart failure. It also increases the risk of cancer.
“The ill health and costs associated with obesity increase over time. This not only affects individual health, but also the costs for the NHS and the economic workforce.’
Participants were followed for ten years, with their weight measured when they enrolled. The costs associated with obesity have risen significantly over the past decade as patients’ health deteriorated. For the most severely obese patients, costs rose 34 percent during this time.
The latest NHS data shows that 26 per cent of adults in England are obese and a further 38 per cent are overweight but not obese.
It suggests that at the peak of treatment, 28.1 million people with a high BMI could cost the NHS £23.8 billion a year, compared to £10.1 billion spent on those at a healthy weight.
The researchers presented their findings at the European Congress on Obesity in Dublin, saying it demonstrates the importance of preventing overweight people from becoming obese, and preventing people from gaining weight in the first place.
This would also benefit the economy, Dr Pearson-Stuttard added.
He said: ‘Two of the biggest challenges for the UK economy are reducing demand on the health system and increasing economic productivity.
Tackling obesity could really move the needle on both. Obese people have fairly predictable complications, but if you can manage their weight and the risk of disease, you drastically reduce the demand for health care.
‘Obesity is a major reason behind the increase in long-term absenteeism and inactivity in the UK working population. In the last 20-30 years we have seen a large increase in people with multiple chronic conditions, meaning they are not working.
‘Preventing someone who is obese class 1 (BMI 30-35) from moving to obesity class 2 (BMI 35-40) clearly yields health benefits and reduces costs. Focusing on preventing obesity complications, using drugs such as statins to prevent heart attacks, is also important.’
Commenting on the findings, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS National Medical Director, said: ‘The evidence is clear that those at a healthy weight are less likely to develop long-term health problems such as type 2 diabetes, experience or be diagnosed with joint problems. with some common cancers.
‘That’s why the NHS has rolled out a Digital Weight Management Program alongside other interventions, which has already helped more than 200,000 obese people take action to eat healthily and exercise more, but the need for wider societal action on obesity is clear. ‘
Katharine Jenner, director of the Obesity Health Alliance, said: ‘The government is forcing the NHS to pay for its years of failure to prevent obesity-related health problems.
“We have laws on the table that could reduce the cost of diet-related diseases, such as restrictions on advertisements and promotions for unhealthy food and drink, but the government has chosen to give in to pressure from the food industry and the side. policy to postpone its implementation.
‘The food industry is making huge profits by flooding our food environment with unhealthy food and then passing the costs onto our NHS. The government must step in and step in and ensure that the healthy choice becomes the easy choice for everyone.’