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Fat people cost NHS millions
8:10am Friday 24th October 2008
Comments (1)FAT residents in mid Cheshire are costing taxpayers millions of pounds.
Central and Eastern Cheshire Primary Care Trust, which covers Northwich, Winsford and Middlewich, has the fifth highest cost to the NHS of diseases related to being obese in the north west.
Latest figures show that only Manchester, Liverpool, Cumbria and Central Lancashire PCTs have higher figures.
The figures show that obesity costs the NHS £111.4million in central and eastern Cheshire in 2007.
If nothing is done this figure will hit £123.6million by 2015.
The Department of Health has released the figures as part of its report Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives: A Toolkit for Developing Local Strategies.
This is available to all PCTs, local authorities and health professionals to help them tackle obesity in their areas by encouraging residents to eat more healthily and be more active.
A spokesman for Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT said: “We have received the toolkit and will be using it in the development of weight management.
“We think that it’s a really useful tool.”
The toolkit also shows why families appear to find it difficult to lead healthy lives.
It claims that only 11.5 per cent of parents with overweight or obese children recognise that they are overweight.
Parents underestimate how much unhealthy food they buy and they overestimate the amount of activity their children do.
The report also claims that families often use snacks as rewards, fillers for when children are bored or to stop family conflict.
Parents of older children are more worried about eating disorders like anorexia and their children not eating enough.
Only 38 per cent of adults realised that obesity can lead to heart disease and just six per cent knew the link to cancer.
Lack of knowledge, confidence and skills stops parents cooking from scratch.
l What do you think? Do you agree with what the toolkit says about parents? Is it a struggle to keep active and eat healthily? Why do you think it is difficult for people to lead healthy lives? Visit winsfordguardian.co.uk and have your say.
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mr taxman, winsford says...
4:00pm Tue 28 Oct 08
I mean how can somebody write this story as its writen above!...its unfounded and unwarrented!
The lady who wrote this states "FAT residents in mid Cheshire are costing taxpayers millions of pounds".
Dont you think for one minute???
Some people get "big" due to problems which they have no control over!..ie there glands which cause all manner of problems, one which is getting fat!
On the other hand there are people out there who cant afford healthier foods, such as fish, local lean meat & veg!..they have to resort to the lesser and sub-standard meat products which have a higher content of fat!
Anyway my whole point is that there is such a thing as consumer tax, and that means for every packet of "burgers" or for every "portion of chips" these people eat and for every litre of coke they drink they pay there taxes!!!!!....more than you missy!!!
Its about time we (as taxpayers) ask our government exactly where our million upon millions of ££££ is and what it is really being spent on!...We pay millions every year in all sorts of taxes and there aint any more aboundent than consumer tax!....WHERE AND WHAT IS IT BEING SPENT?...
We create £100s of millions a year in taxes and still complain when they have to help these people out in later life through hospital care!..so what... havnt they paid for it & more in there lifes?
I surgest the writer of this artical should think again and do some resurch before jumping on the band wagon and discriminating about (fat) people!