Rising cost of obesity revealed (From Haringey Independent)

Rising cost of obesity revealed

8:30am Friday 10th October 2008

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Overweight Haringey residents are costing the health service more than £73 million a year, according to a Government report.

And the total cost is set to rocket by a further £8m by 2015 unless urgent action is taken, health chiefs have warned.

Experts say the rising costs to primary care trusts (PCTs) in treating diseases like diabetes, heart disease and cancer could be reversed by people eating more healthily and taking more exercise.

The report, called Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives: A toolkit for developing local strategies, was published on Tuesday and has been handed out to all PCTs and local authorities to help them tackle obesity and curb spending.

A Haringey PCT spokeswoman said: “We are responding to overweight and obese children and adults by supporting them to have a healthy diet and take exercise, and by treating those who are obese.

“The PCT is running the Watch It programme in Northumberland Park, Bruce Grove and Noel Park to provide family-based weight management programmes for eight to 16-year-olds who are obese. This will eventually be implemented across the borough.

“Through these positive methods, and with strong teamwork with Haringey Council and families, we are continuing to make progress in tackling obesity.”

The report blamed parents for their part in the health crisis by failing to recognise their children are overweight and by underestimating how much unhealthy food they buy.

Many parents use snacks as rewards, to see off boredom, or avoid squabbles, it added.

Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, said: “Since I first spoke out about obesity in my 2002 annual report, ‘Obesity: the health time bomb’, nothing has changed my mind about the seriousness of this threat to the country’s future health.

“The link between obesity and preventable illnesses, such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer is undeniable. In England almost two thirds of adults and a third of children are either overweight or obese; without effective action this could rise to nine in ten adults and two thirds of children by 2050.”

Obesity is measured by calculating a person’s body mass index (BMI) — their weight in kilograms, divided by their height in metres squared.

A BMI between 25 and 30 is categorised as overweight, while those with an index above 30 are obese. Anyone with a BMI of 40 or more is defined as being morbidly obese.

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