REVEALED: Exactly how much the average obese person costs the NHS every year, according to new study READ MORE: Millions could now get 'miracle' fat-busting jab for heart health By John Ely Deputy Health Editor For Mailonline Published: 10:39 EDT, 20 August 2024 | Updated: 11:13 EDT, 20 August 2024 e-mail View comments The average overweight Brit costs the health service at least £1,000 in healthcare costs per year, a new major analysis suggests. But those considered very obese, with a body mass index over 40, cost the NHS around £5,000 per head, due to weight-related health troubles. The study, by firm Lane, Clark & Peacock (LCP), found that, much like the average British waistline, the problem is seemingly growing larger with time.
The average annual cost of treating the most severely obese Brits has risen from £1,300 in 2015, to £1,900 by 2019, the final year of the study. This is thought to be because improvements in treatments have extended people's lives, prolonging the need for care. By specific health condition heart failure was the costliest per patient, tallying at just over £3,650 and £4,320 between different weight classes.
This was followed by kidney disease, costing between £2,900 and almost £4,200, and cardiovascular disease, coming in at nearly £2,700 at just shy of £3,500 Hospital admissions for obese Brits accounted for the biggest overall spend, followed by prescriptions for medications to help them manage the consequences of excess weight at an average of nearly £340 per year for the most obese patients. This was followed by primary care services like GP appointments which could cost an average of £287 per year per patient A wealth of evidence shows that obesity can increase the risk of a host of life-limiting conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and several types of cancer. Excess weight is estimated to be a factor in one in 20 cancer cases in Britain, according to Cancer Research UK.
By specific obesity-related health condition, heart failure was found to be the costliest per patient, tallying between £3,650 and £4,320, depending on weight classes. This was followed by kidney disease, costing between £2,900 and almost £4,200, and cardiovascular disease, coming in at nearly £2,700 to £3,500. Other costly health conditions linked to excessive weight included fixing damage to joints such as the knees as well as mental health conditions like depression .
HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR BODY MASS INDEX - AND WHAT IT MEANS Body mass index (BMI) is a measure of body fat based on your weight in relation to your height. Standard Formula: BMI = (weight in pounds / (height in inches x height in inches)) x 703 Metric Formula: BMI = (weight in kilograms / (height in meters x height in meters)) Measurements: Under 18.5: Underweight 18.
5 - 24.9: Healthy 25 - 29.9: Overweight 30 - 39.
9: Obese 40+ : Morbidly obese Advertisement Costs covered services such as emergency admissions, planned hospital procedures, regular health checks for diabetes and high blood pressure, prescriptions and GP appointments. While costs in the thousands may seem minuscule compared to multi-million NHS budgets, when scaled up the reflect the quarter of English Brits who are obese, the annual bill is thought to run into the billions. Unsurprisingly, costs for the most obese Brits are 64 per cent higher than those Brits who are classed as overweight.
But shockingly the analysts, who published their findings in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, found obese Brits accounted for 72 per cent of all healthcare costs recorded. The authors said this was due to those in the heaviest category being more likely to have multiple health conditions linked to obesity that racked up the bills. They found a third of the heftiest Brits had a one in three change of living with at two or more obesity related health conditions, compared to just a quarter of those merely overweight.
This led to obese patients with three or more obesity-related conditions having about double the estimated health costs of those patients in the study with only one such condition. Hospital admissions for obese Brits accounted for the biggest overall spend, followed by prescriptions for medications to help them manage the consequences of excess weight. Your browser does not support iframes.
This was followed by primary care services like GP appointments which could cost an average of £287 per year per patient. Dr Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard, lead author of the analysis and head of LCP's analytics team, said: 'Our studies highlight that healthcare costs increase with BMI and are greatest in those living with more severe obesity and those living with common comorbidities such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and depression.' But he added this cost also demonstrated the benefit, to both patients and the taxpayer, that could be gained by both preventing obesity.
The study had a number of limitations, including due to being observational, not being able to directly link health issues suffered to the participants to their obesity. For example, while depression and obesity have been linked, there was no way for the analysts to tell if a particular case of the mental health condition was directly linked to weight or another factor. This latest analysis follows another published at the end of the last year which found the Britain's ballooning obesity crisis was now costing the nation nearly £100billion per year .
Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Under the BMI system, a score of 18.
5 to 25 is healthy. A score of 25 to 29 counts as overweight, and 30-plus means a person is obese, the stage at which chances of illness rocket This colossal total figure includes the both the cost of treating obesity to the NHS as well as the secondary costs like lost earnings from time off work due to illness and early deaths from weight-related health conditions. Experts have blamed the nation's ever-expanding waistline on the simultaneous rise of processed, calorie-laden junk and ultra-processed food and modern sedentary, desk-bound lifestyles.
Two thirds of all adults are now too overweight compared to just half in the mid-90s. Of those, about a quarter are obese. In terms of obesity, this is equivalent to 16.
8million people of which an estimated 8million are women, 7.4million men, 760,000 boys and 590,000 girls. Ministers have previously hoped a wave of new drugs to tackle obesity, like the Wegovy weight-loss jab, will help turn the tide on the crisis and get more Brits back to work.
The previous Conservative Government previously mooted plans to roll out the game-changing drugs to trim the country's bulging benefits bill. The, now elected, Labour Government's previously highlighted its plans to implement a 9pm watershed for junk food advertising on television in a bid to combat childhood obesity. Responding to the new analysis a Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'The link between the health of the nation and our economy is clear, which is why we're taking bold action to fix our NHS and tackle the causes of sickness.
'We have commissioned Lord Darzi to establish the state of the nation's health service. 'His findings will inform our 10-year plan to radically reform the NHS and build a health service that is fit for the future and able to confront the obesity crisis head on, shifting our focus from treatment to prevention to ease the strain on the NHS and help people to live well for longer.' NHS Share or comment on this article: REVEALED: Exactly how much the average obese person costs the NHS every year, according to new study e-mail Add comment.
