NHS costs attributable to overweight and obesity are projected to reach £9.7 billion by 2050

[hellymissy]

So many posters keep banging on about people not wearing masks, spreading the virus and overwhelming the nhs, people breaking rules etc which is obviously an issue - but we also need to focus on some bigger issues around the long and short term sustainability of the NHS a d consider ways to fix them.

Extracts from government website shows that;

“UK and international evidence suggests that being severely overweight puts people at greater risk of hospitalisation, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission and death from COVID-19, with risk growing substantially as body mass index (BMI) increases.

The current evidence does not suggest that having excess weight increases people’s chances of contracting COVID-19. However, the data does show that obese people are significantly more likely to become seriously ill and be admitted to intensive care with COVID-19 compared to those with a healthy BMI.

The UK-wide NHS costs attributable to overweight and obesity are projected to reach £9.7 billion by 2050, with wider costs to society estimated to reach £49.9 billion per year.”

If anything will cripple the NHS it’s the direct and indirect impact of obesity on ICU units, and long term pressure obesity puts on the NHS.

Seriously, What else can we do to tackle obesity?

**this is NOT a fat shaming thread, purely a thread to redirect some peoples attention towards some of the real issues around COVID

Seriously, What else can we do to tackle obesity?

Look at food poverty in this country? Unhealthy food is cheaper than healthy food.

Community cooking classes?

Cheap council run gyms. Free walking groups, prescribe park runs (some GPs locally do this). More and better dietician advice/healthy eating advice, meal plans, etc.

Shame they closed the gyms even though the stats show gyms only responsible for something like 1% of covid infections.

How about something like a free govt version of Les Mills on demand?

There are efforts for stuff.......the Sky bike rides, etc, improving cycling infrastructure.

Give healthier snacks and lunches to school kids

Does it not make anyone very sad that the government are doing nothing about obesity? Or very little?

The gym scenario would be a great idea but I'm not convinced people would even do it - I think intervention is needed well before that.

I’ve been amazed at the amount of people taking exercise during lockdown 1 & 2

Also the sale of bikes during lockdown 1 was immense, studies in Denmark show that for every euro spent on cycling infrastructure they save 5 euros in saved health care costs

@JacobReesMogadishu I agree with some of your points but I do not agree healthy food is more expensive.

A pack of chicken from Tesco two chicken breasts is £2, vegetables cost £1-2

It's that people ignore the benefit of cooking from scratch/are time poor/can't be bothered amongst other factors to get home and cook a full meal.

Obesity often starts in childhood. I think it's terrible that my DC's after school sports clubs have all been cancelled during lockdown. Lots of kids sitting around on screens in the evening rather than being active. I think this is a huge mistake.

obesity is sometimes a symptom of a disease, not the cause. for examply thyroid disease, possibly some cases of type 2 diabetes.

a good, preventative health initiative could help.

if the solution were easy, then no one would be overweight or obese...

Give people enough money to buy decent cookery books and ingredients.
Fund good school lunches and extend school day to give more exercise.
Give enough money so that people don’t feel they have to work every hour god sends so have no time to cook.
Reduce licensing hours.
Limit fast food outlets near schools - or just limit fast food outlets.
Support for improvement in breastfeeding rates.
Funding for family centres with accessible parenting courses, without stigma, that follow on from antenatal classes.
Early intervention programmes.

All primaries to have a walking bus.
Better public transport.
Improved cycling and walking safety.

@pinkbalconyrailing health problems contribute to obesity, but that is an excuse used far too often.

Not everyone overweight or obese has a medical condition, it's used too much as a barrier to give people reasons to 'ok' it

These are good suggestions - why do you think the government does nothing to implement?

Teach about healthy eating and food nutrition in schools from an early age. Bring back the old style home economics lessons and include how to shop on a budget, what fruit and vegetables are in season when, and include practical cooking lessons using healthy ingredients. Basically engage and equip children with the knowledge they need to grow into healthy adults.
PE lessons could also cover the basics of how and why our bodies need exercise. I know this is taught in secondary but there is no reason it can’t be introduced in Primary at a more basic level.
Run parent and child healthy eating and cooking classes after school (no idea how this would be funded but the principle is good).

I agree OP

Covid isn’t the only epidemic. The health of our nation is awful and the spiralling costs for the NHS from lifestyle illness is just unacceptable. And we can’t just keep saying ‘more money more money’ we have to get to the root cause

Dietary advice is wrong.

Our food environment is criminal

Junk is seen as a normal diet

Slim is now a minority group

GPs can already prescribe gym afaik. You get someone to show you how to use machines and make a plan. I think it was a pound a session.

Aell. When they reopen...

@hamstersarse exactly and we are failing as a country.

World health organisation stats show;

In 2016, more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight. Of these over 650 million were obese (27%)

Whereas in the UK, The majority of adults in England in 2018 were overweight or obese (63%)

So in the UK, we have a big problem compared to the world it seems

Slim being a minority group is very worrying.

I know people mean well talking about exercise, and obviously exercise is good. But it’s our food that’s the main issue.

50% of the calories consumed in this country come from ultra processed junk food

why do you think the government does nothing to implement?

Shortens life span, decreases pension bill
Government reacts to problems at crisis point rather than plan anything to address a problem before becoming a great catastrophe

I’m a social prescriber working in various surgeries, I come across countless people with various issues. I can prescribe a gym membership, slimming world, weight watchers, help people join waking groups, help arrange childcare, help find cooking courses, recommend books from the library, offer moral support and encouragement and so so many other options to help people with obesity, more often than not sadly the vast majority just plain old can’t be arsed! It’s so frustrating, I can see the habits being passed to the children. Until people have a motivation to lose weight they won’t. It’s the issue we have the least success with!

I know people mean well talking about exercise,

But if it saves money for the NHS then that is part of the answer to the question asked by the op

@ivykaty44 yes but costs billions in other ways as the stats show so I still don't see how it makes sense

The sugar tax was a move (very small) in the right direction

But we have a problem that much of the economy rests on the provision of shit food

The NHS had better return to prescribing valium then.

Instead of SSRI and SRNI antidepressants that are so strongly linked to weight gain.

Also - smoking. It's no coincidence imo the rise in obesity at the same time that smoking rates have fallen.

People need some form of comfort. Many can't afford other options - holidays, shopping trips, pampering sessions.

Smoking is a win win. Cost the NHS millions - but contributes billions to the tax coffers. And, shorter life expectancy means huge savings on pensions and social care costs.

So there you go OP. Problem solved.