'Over a million hospitalisations in a year due to obesity'

With over a million hospitalisations being recorded in 2019-2020 due to obesity being the main diagnosis, the NHS Digital also revealed that over 22 per cent of adults were classified as ‘inactive’ in the same period.

The new data was published on May 20 where the figures showed that a total of 1.02 million 'finished admission episodes' (FAEs) were recorded with obesity as a ‘primary’ or ‘secondary’ diagnosis; of these, some were due to improved recording.

However, the data also revealed that number of admissions where obesity was recorded as the main cause fell to 10,780 from 11,117 in 2018-2019.

Shockingly, women accounted for two-thirds (64 per cent) of admissions where obesity was a factor. The NHS digital also found out that in 2019-2020, 80 per cent of patients who underwent bariatric surgery were female.

The figures also revealed that there were 6,740 FCEs with a primary diagnosis of obesity and a main or secondary procedure of 'Bariatric Surgery' in 2019-20.

This marked a fall of 4 per cent on 2018/19 (7,011).

In primary care, the number of prescribed items for obesity treatment dropped by 17 per cent in 2020 to 294,000 items from 355,000 items in 2019.

The data also revealed the obesity prevalence that is around 27 per cent of men and 29 per cent of women were obese. Around two thirds of adults were overweight - this was more prevalent among men (68 per cent than women (60 per cent).

Among children it showed that those living in the most deprived areas were more than twice as likely to be obese, than those living in the least deprived areas. Over 13 per cent of Reception-aged children living in the most deprived areas were obese compared to 6 per cent of those living in the least deprived areas.

While 27.5 per cent  of Year 6 children living in the most deprived areas were obese compared to 11.9 per cent of those living in the least deprived areas, concluded the report.