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Weight loss operations rising fastest in London
Sophie Goodchild, Health Editor27.05.08
The number of Britons having weight-reduction surgery increased by 41 per cent across the country, figures show today.
A total of 3,459 patients had gastric bypass operations.
In some parts of London the rise in the number of radical weight loss procedures is among the highest in the UK.
Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS trust carried out 32 operations last year — a record rise of 129 per cent on the year before.
Chelsea and Westminster hospital performed gastric bypasses on 17 patients — a 70 per cent increase. In Bromley the operations increased from 13 to 20.
Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said the figures showed the Government was failing to reduce obesity.
He added: “Gastric bypass surgery is a last-ditch solution and the number of operations will continue to rise sharply in the future unless we do a lot more to encourage people to be more active and eat more healthily.”
The surgery involves reducing the size of a patient's stomach so they are unable to consume large amounts of food.
