NHS report shows obesity still rising
An NHS report shows that the number of admissions where obesity was either a primary or secondary diagnosis has increased by 15% compared to 2016/2017.
This comes alongside data showing that the number of primary care prescribed items has gone down by 8%, following a downward trend since 2009.
The net ingredient cost increased by £1.2 million to a total of £8.1 million in 2018, compared to the costs in 2017.
The reports show that two-thirds of obesity-related admissions were for women,
The number of adults who classed as obese rose to 29% in 2017.
For children, those who lived in deprived areas were more than twice as likely to be obese.
Data shows that only 18% (less than 1 in 5) children eat the recommended five portions of fruit a day.
The four UK Chief Medical officers recommend that:
“All children and young people should engage in moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity for at least 60 minutes and up to several hours every day.
“All children and young people should minimise the amount of time spent being sedentary for extended periods.”
For adults, they suggest that:
“Over a week, activity should add up to at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity in bouts of 10 minutes or more.”
