Figures from the NHS (as per the report Statistics on Obesity, Physical Activity and Diet 2018) show a constant rise in the number of people diagnosed with obesity, to the extent that in just three short years, in 2013-14, there were 9325 people classed as obese and as of 2016-17, there are more than 10,700.
Shockingly, the numbers show that there are almost three times more obese women than men, with the number for both genders increasingly growing.
And whilst the number of people declared obese continues to intensify to worrying levels, so does the number of hospital admissions.
In 2016-17, the NHS had 617,000 obesity-related admissions to hospitals; a shocking increase of 18% since 2015/16. And it’s not just hospital admissions applying pressure on the NHS, but the number of prescriptions issued to manage obesity.
As a result, Golfsupport.com sought to investigate which areas in England issued the highest and lowest number of prescriptions for the treatment of obesity.
Golfsupport analysed data by the NHS, entitled Statistics on Obesity, Physical Activity and Diet 2018. The data consists of the number of prescription items for the treatment of obesity prescribed in Primary Care and dispensed in the community, by region, commissioning region and Clinical Commissioning Group.
Golfsupport.com has exposed the regions with the highest figures for prescription drugs handed out for obesity treatments:
- London (69,822), Yorkshire and Humber (49,747) and West Midlands (33,868).
Within these regions, the clinical commissioning groups with the largest number of prescriptions issued are:
- NHS Newham (4,273), NHS Sheffield (7,386) and NHS Birmingham Cross City (6,119).
On the other end of the spectrum, the regions with the least number of prescription drugs provided for patients for obesity treatments are as following:
- South Central (16,492), Lancashire (14,654), and Wessex (11,900).
Within these regions, the clinical commissioning groups with the lowest figures for obesity-related prescriptions handed out are:
- NHS Bracknell and Ascot (248), NHS West Lancashire (526) and Isle of Wight (524).
