Tikki Chalmers: The cost of being fat

16 September 2008

Tikki Chalmers

BEING overweight doesn't just cost you your health and wellbeing - in economic terms, obesity costs the NHS £7 billion per year.

And the cost of treating overweight Britons is only set to rise further.

Britain has the fastest growing obesity rate of nearly all developed countries.

The Office of National Statistics now classifies half of men and a third of women as overweight. The figure for obese adults is one in five and, if left unchecked, is set to rise to one in three by 2010.

"Economically, the cost of the epidemic is going to be absolutely massive," says the advisor of the first National Conference on Obesity and Healthcare, Dr David Haslam.

The cost to treat an obese patient, according to Dr Haslam, averages £3 per year, but the natural progression for that patient is to then contract diabetes, and later heart disease. Treatment for a diabetic patient costs hundreds of pounds per year and for patients with heart disease this rises to thousands of pounds per year.

Dr Haslam warns the obesity time bomb has already gone off and unless we treat it, the diabetes time bomb will surely follow, with crippling results for both the NHS and the economy.

We are in the midst of an obesity epidemic for various reasons. Simply put, we are exercising less and eating more than ever before; despite gym memberships being at an all-time high with more people than ever before on diets.

Is it time for us to consider changing the way we exercise and eat? Could it be the popular conceptions of what it takes to get into good shape are not actually scientifically accurate?

It's certainly no joking matter, however, as we head deeper into an epidemic which could, experts have warned, bankrupt the NHS if trends continue.

If it's time for you to take action then call Tikki Chalmers at Educogym on 0845 0534547 to book a free consultation or visit www.educogymglobal.com.