NHS obesity bill exceeds hip operation costs

NHS spending on drugs for conditions fuelled by obesity has soared to more than £1billion a year, figures show.

Experts last night said bulging waistlines and sedentary habits were leading to problems putting the health service under intolerable strain.

The number of diabetes drugs doled out has almost doubled in a decade and spending on treatments, combined with spending on weight loss drugs and indigestion remedies, has now reached £1.027billion – a 65 per cent rise in 10 years. By comparison, the NHS spends around £900 million a year on hip operations, with recent proposals to ration surgery so that it is offered only to those in most pain.

Last night obesity campaigners said “horrendous” couch potato lifestyles were crippling the health service.

The figures, from NHS Digital, reveal 52 million prescriptions were issued last year for diabetes – a rise of 81 per cent in a decade. The condition is largely driven by obesity, with around 85 per cent of Type 2 cases resulting from excess weight.

Prescribing of statins to protect against heart disease has risen almost as sharply, with a 69 per cent rise in the amount being handed out by GPS. Last year, 71million prescriptions were issued for the cholesterol-busting drugs – a rise from 42million in 2006.

Charities last night called for urgent efforts to improve Britain’s lifestyles to tackle a mounting crisis. Two in three adults are now overweight or obese.

Dan Howarth, from Diabetes UK, said: “The last 10 years have seen an explosion in the number of people being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes – a trend that shows no sign of slowing down. It is a condition that is costing the NHS £11billion every year and is the underlying cause of most amputations, blindness and kidney disease.”

The charity estimates that almost 12million people in the UK are at risk of

developing diabetes, as a result of their weight, or sedentary habits. “Most of these could reduce their risk by making small changes to their lifestyles, eating a balanced diet and exercising more regularly,” Mr Howarth said.

Tam Fry, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said it was “lunacy” to spend so much on obesity-related conditions. He said: “Type 2 diabetes is frequently a direct result of obesity and, like obesity, is largely preventable. It is therefore sheer lunacy that nearly £1billion has now to be spent annually on drugs to treat a disease which, for years, decisive government action could have stopped in its tracks.”

He added too many people without heart disease were taking statins when they would be better off improving their lifestyles. “Undeniably, statins are vital for many conditions but millions of people are given the freedom to pop them daily to little benefit,” he said.

Around 17.5 million people in England are recommended to take statins under NHS guidance which suggests they should be taken by most men over 60 and women over 65.

Prof Sir Nilesh Samani, medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said the increase in prescribed statins had saved lives.

“There can be no debate that statins have played a crucial role in reducing the risk of death and disability from heart attacks and strokes for millions of patients worldwide,” he said. “Research has proven their lifesaving effects, which is why the threshold of who could be prescribed statins in the UK was lowered so that more people could benefit.”

He added drug costs have dropped dramatically in the past decade.

The data, which cover all drugs prescribed by GPS, show the total number of prescriptions issued has risen by 46 per cent, with 1.1billion prescriptions issued in the community last year, a rise from 752million in 2006.