One in 250 people treated for obesity in Hertfordshire

New figures, compiled by the Gazette, show that one in 250 people living in the region served by Herts Valley Clinical Commissioning Group, receive prescriptions for the treatment of obesity.

And that puts the area at almost the bottom of the list, with only 22 out of 175 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) giving out fewer prescriptions.

A spokesman for the CCG said the figures were not necessarily an accurate way of comparing different areas, but confirmed that obesity rates are rising.

They said: “Local health services and the county council are committed to tackling this in various ways which include funding a Weight Watchers and Slimming World service which our GPs can refer patients to at no cost to the patient, Shape Up, a free 12-week weight management course for men funded by Public Health Herts and delivered by Watford FC’s Community Sports and Education Trust and BeeZee Bodies, a programme which supports children and their families make healthy changes to their lifestyle.

“There is also additional specialist support in place for those who require more help to lose weight.”

The figures were culled by comparing the size of populations served by different CCGs, which oversee local healthcare, to figures 
on obesity treatment found 
by the research group 
Golfsupport.com

A Golfsupport.com spokesman said: “Whilst the number of people declared obese continues to intensify to worrying levels, so does the number of hospital admissions.

“In 2016-17, the NHS had 617,000 obesity-related admissions to hospitals; a shocking increase of 18 per cent since 2015/16.”