The 'super-obese' under-25s having gastric band surgery
Surgeons say cost of obesity crisis could bankrupt the NHS – but operations can save money

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Nearly 40 per cent of under-25s who have weight-loss surgery are classified as "super-obese", a new report has shown. The authors say it is a "reflection on society's failings" that many young people are so overweight.
One leading surgeon in the field said obesity threatens to bankrupt the NHS because of the high cost of treating diseases associated with being overweight, especially type 2 diabetes, the BBC says, but surgery can save money.
Richard Welbourn, who also chairs the National Bariatric Surgery Registry, which produced the report, said: "Severe and complex obesity is a lifelong condition associated with many major medical conditions, the cost of which threatens to bankrupt the NHS.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"For severely obese people, medical therapy, lifestyle changes and attempts at dieting rarely succeed in maintaining long-term, clinically beneficial weight loss due to the hormonal effects of being obese.
"Our data shows that there is great benefit from bariatric surgery for all the diseases studied. In particular, the effect on diabetes has important implications for the NHS."
The new report looked at 18,283 bariatric operations done between 2010 and 2013, including gastric bands and gastric bypasses. The average patient was nearly twice the weight they should be for their height, with a body mass index of 48.8.
More than 70 per cent of those patients could not climb three flights of stairs without resting, classified as "functional impairment", says The Guardian. Five hundred and fifty patients were under 25 and another 62 were under 18.
The surgeons say there is good news: after treatment, more than half of patients were no longer functionally impaired and could climb three flights of stairs without a rest.
On average, one year after surgery, patients had lost 60 per cent of their excess weight, while a majority of those who had had type 2 diabetes no longer had the symptoms.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
Texas and Yelp are suing each other over crisis pregnancy centers
Talking Point A battle over free speech and abortion rights heads to court
By Joel Mathis Published
-
Dianne Feinstein, history-making Democratic US senator, dies at 90
The Explainer Her colleagues celebrate her legacy as a trailblazer who cleared the path for other women to follow
By Theara Coleman Published
-
Why is the government on the brink of a shutdown?
Today's Big Question GOP infighting is bringing the country to a standstill, but even Republicans aren't entirely sure why
By Rafi Schwartz Published
-
Captain Tom charity closes to donations amid daughter’s pool row
Speed Read Hannah Ingram-Moore to appeal council order to demolish spa complex at her home
By Arion McNicoll Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Sex and health, the Earth’s core and another new year
podcast Is the NHS failing British women? What’s going on at the centre of our planet? And what’s in a date?
By The Week Staff Published
-
Tirzepatide and the other ‘breakthrough’ obesity drugs
feature Huge demand for weight-loss medication means prices have soared
By The Week Staff Published
-
National nursing strike: should the patient ‘always come first’?
Talking Point Recent YouGov poll found that 65% of public approves of strike action
By The Week Staff Published
-
The science behind lab-grown blood
feature Development of ‘absolute game changer’ could help those with sickle cell and other conditions
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
Why the NHS is using maggots as treatment
feature And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Russian visas, Arab fattism and quiet quitting
podcast Is Finland an unwilling backdoor to Europe? Has fat-shaming reached the Middle East? And are young workers really slacking off?
By The Week Staff Published
-
Reader favourites
Speed Read A selection of short but sweet features from across The Week magazine
By The Week Staff Last updated