£100m cost of obesity for county

12:00pm Monday 13th October 2008

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DORSET spent more than £100 million last year dealing with diseases related to overweight and obese people.

Now medical experts are warning that the county’s heavyweight health and cash problem will get much worse unless something is done to encourage people to adopt a healthier lifestyle.

Figures from the Department of Health show that Dorset Primary Care Trust spent £102.4 million in 2007 tackling diseases linked to obesity and weight.

The department predicts that this bill could rise to £106.2 million by 2010 and up to £113.6 million by 2015, if no action is taken.

It adds that the cash drain for Dorset dealing with diseases relating just to obesity was £53.1 million in 2007 but that this could rise to £57.5 million by 2010 and to £66 million by 2015.

Overall, Dorset’s bill is the seventh highest out of 14 South West PCTs, the overall cost to the region being £1.33 billion for 2007.

NHS Dorset public health director Dr David Phillips said: “Dorset has seen a growing obesity problem which is using up finance and resources that could be used in other areas of the health service.

“The figures published suggest that we currently spend approximately one in every seven pounds of NHS monies on issues surrounding excess weight and obesity.

“This is real evidence of the problem that we are facing if we as a community do not take measures to improve our lifestyle.

“Across the county we already have a number of initiatives in place that offer people assistance with all aspects of their lives including healthy eating or giving up smoking.

“We work extremely hard to ensure that health messages from both the local NHS and our partners encourage positive steps – for example, eat a healthy diet or take more exercise – which offer clear benefits, for individuals, their families and local communities.”

The department has recognised the problem Dorset and other PCTs are facing and has sent them a document to help them tackle obesity in their areas and get people to live healthier lives, eat more healthily and be more active.

The Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives report reveals that 88.5 per cent of parents with overweight or obese children don’t recognise this.

They also underestimate how much unhealthy food and convenience food they buy as well as overestimating the amount of activity their children do.

Only 38 per cent of adults know obesity can lead to heart disease and just six per cent know about the link between being overweight and cancer, it says.

It also reveals that many families use snacks as rewards, as fillers during times of boredom and to appease conflict.

Programmes to help Dorset people lead healthier lifestyles include Healthy Choices which works with local weight loss groups to help people achieve their ideal target weight.

More details on how to lead a healthy lifestyle can be found online at www.dorset-pct.nhs.uk