Northamptonshire NHS to invest in overweight treatments

NHS Northamptonshire plans to considerably increase the amount of money it spends on dealing with obesity in the county to cope with an increase in overweight residents.

A freedom of information request to the health authority revealed that in 2007 and 2008 a total of £277,000 was spent on tackling the problem. But over the next year that figure will be more than quadrupled as the NHS proposes to spend a massive £1.15 million on the cause.

Corby was recently named as a place with one of the highest percentages of obesity in the UK.

A spokesman for NHS Northamptonshire said tackling obesity was a key priority in its master plan for the next five years.

He added: “Patients are likely to be treated in a range of settings, be that with their GP, one of the weight management programmes or one to one advice and intervention given by such professionals as health trainers, district nurses and health visitors.”

The £1.15 million spend is a fraction of what the county NHS is forced to lay out on treating diseases which arise as a result of being obese.

By 2010, the combined cost to Northamptonshire of conditions linked to being obese, like diabetes and heart disease, is likely to be almost £87 million a year, rising to £108 million a year by 2015.

The £1.15 million excludes money spent on health trainers and encouraging exercise for the general population.

Deputy leader of Corby Council, Mark Pengelly said he thought it was important that money is invested in tackling the issue; “Tackling obesity is an important issue as we know. When we get to a certain age it can impact on our health and cause problems.”

However Elizabeth Smith, 76, of Irchester said she did not think tackling obesity merited so much money being spent; “I think there are other things that the NHS needs to spend its money on. At the moment there is this swine flu going around. I think this is a lot of money to spend.”

Tony McDevitt, 40, of Skipton Close, Corby, said: “I think money needs to be found to educate people about healthy eating. No food is bad food, it’s just how much you eat of it. Obesity can lead to other illnesses and can, in the long run, burden the NHS.”

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