February 18, 2013

Fat children should be given gastric bypass surgery on the NHS to help them manage their weight, a leading professor has argued.

Dr David Haslam, head of the National Obesity Forum, said that not enough young people are offered surgery because NICE commissioning guidelines advise against it.

He said the treatment, which is normally reserved for over 16s, should not be seen as a quick fix because it can have a long term impact on health and increase life expectancy by decades. 

Dr Haslam made the remarks in response to suggestions that fizzy drinks should be heavily taxed and the numbers of fast food takeaways limited.

The Academy of Royal Medical Colleges - which represents 220,000 doctors - warned that tougher measures are needed to tackle Britain’s obesity crisis.

At present nearly two thirds of adults and one in three children are too fat, according to NHS data.

But Dr Haslam said the proposed measures to tackle the obesity epidemic were not enough.

He said: ‘Obesity is a massive problem, it’s a major concern both in adults and in children.

‘In my 25 years as a GP I’ve seen the problem escalate to dramatic proportions and I’m seeing more and more obese and overweight kids.

‘Radical measures are necessary if we are to start saving lives because for some obese children it is a desperate situation.

Figures also show that the health service is spending £5.1billion a year treating illnesses linked to obesity such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

According to the academy, obesity represents the ‘greatest public health crisis’ facing Britain.

Dr Haslam added: ‘The problem with obesity in children is that it leads to problems such as diabetes, which is alarming.

Measures needed: Dr Haslam said 'radical measures' were needed to deal with obesity, which he described as a 'massive problem' (pictures posed by models)

‘This used to be a problem seen in the over-50s and seeing it in children is frankly shocking.

‘There is also high blood pressure, asthma and joint pains and it is getting worse.’

Currently guidelines advice overweight youngsters to use diet and exercise to manage their conditions.

Surgery is used only as a last resort and is offered only to those aged 16 and over.

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