Rise in number of obese patients

The number of people admitted to Barnsley Hospital with illnesses linked to obesity has risen by a third in a year.

In 2011/12 there were 88 admissions to Barnsley Hospital for treatment primarily linked to obesity compared with the 61 the previous year.

The figures, released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, show that 59 of those admitted were women and 29 men.

In the previous year, 47 of the 61 were women and only 14 men.

The rise is despite figures for the whole of Yorkshire falling from 1,165 to 1,093.

Sharon Stoltz, acting director of Public Health for Barnsley said: “These obesity related hospital admissions figures across the country are of serious concern and highlight a trend that increases the risk of heart attacks, high blood pressure, diabetes and strokes in those affected.

“In Barnsley we are taking a proactive stance towards obesity which partly explains our growing levels of admissions."

Ms Stoltz said there were specialist services to help obese people and a rigorous process to identify whether they needed weight-loss surgery.

She added: “Of course we would prefer to not have to make these referrals (for weight loss surgery) but it is about responding to a need in our current population together with implementing programmes that will address these issues in future generations."

She said there people were being encouraged to make simple changes such as eating more fruit and vegetables, cutting down on fatty foods and being more active.

There is also a range of services to help people with healthy living the are available through the Barnsley Change4Life programme.