Much of NHS in England ‘does not take obesity seriously enough’

Much of the NHS does not take obesity seriously enough, despite it being an unfolding health disaster that costs the UK £98bn a year, says a report.

Only five of England’s 42 integrated care boards (ICBs) – regional groupings of NHS trusts which coordinate care over wide areas – have made tackling obesity or sticking to a healthy weight one of their top priorities, according to the Future Health thinktank.

Its analysis found that the other 37 ICBs did not identify obesity as a key issue in their forward plans, which set out what they see as the most pressing issues over the next five years.

“Too many parts of the NHS are giving obesity too little priority,” said Richard Sloggett, the report’s author, a former special adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care.

“Given what a huge and worsening problem obesity is – for individuals, the NHS, society at large and also its impact on the economy – I was concerned to see that so few NHS bodies regarded tackling it as one of their key priorities,” he added.

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Source: The Guardian, 7 July 2024