Big jump in weight loss surgery

THE number of obese Australians undergoing bariatric surgery has skyrocketed in the past decade, with new figures showing Queenslanders billed Medicare for almost 22,000 procedures in one year.

Latest data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare released today show Queensland patients billed Medicare for 21,600 weight loss surgery-related procedures, valued at $5.2 million.

The figures show hospital admissions for weight loss surgery nationally grew from 9300 in 2005-06 to 22,700 in 2014-15, an increase of 144 per cent. Queenslanders underwent bariatric procedures at a rate of 10.9 per 10,000 people, with 4609 admissions to private hospitals and 491 admissions to public hospitals in 2014-15. The national average was 9.7 admissions per 10,000.