Now obese teenagers need hip surgery

PATIENTS as young as 15 are being given hip and knee replacements because they are so overweight, shocking new NHS figures have revealed.

Statistics exposing the dire state of Britain’s obesity crisis also show that patients under 25 are undergoing heart bypasses because of their weight.

Data shows that the number of obesity-linked operations is rising year by year for all ages, with younger generations having to battle conditions usually associated with ageing. The figures, published by NHS Digital, show that in 2019/20, one man aged between 20 and 24, received a coronary bypass, with obesity given as one of the main reasons why he needed it.

Two men and one woman in their early 20s were given coronary stents – tubes that increase the blood supply to the heart – for the same reason last year.

A total of 30 people under 30 have needed knee replacement surgery in the last five years because of obesity, with the youngest aged between ten and 14.

Three girls under 15 received hip replacements because of their weight last year, with a total of 31 people under the age of 25 having the operation for that reason.

Across all ages, the number of patients needing heart bypasses because of obesity has nearly doubled from 1,570 in 2014 to 3,020 last year.

The new figures come just weeks after the Government launched an obesity strategy proposing a ban on TV adverts for food high in fat, sugar and salt before 9pm. Other measures include scrapping ‘buy one get one free’ deals on unhealthy foods and displaying calorie counts on restaurant menus.

Even alcoholic drinks could be forced to declare the number of calories they contain.

Duncan Stephenson, deputy chief executive of the Royal Society of Public Health, said: ‘Sadly, these worrying statistics tell a familiar story – when we fail to take on the root causes of obesity, the bill just gets picked up further down the line. And yet, prevention services have been gutted of funding in recent years, with a 50 per cent cut to local obesity services since 2015.

‘ If the Government is serious about empowering people to live healthier lives, it first needs to get serious about prevention.

‘The obesity strategy announced this summer sets out clear action in key areas such as tackling junk food advertising, but we also need to see clear financial backing in the forthcoming spending review with a long term funding package for public health.’