Numbers seeking 'last chance' weight operations rocket

THE number of Lothians residents seeking "last chance" weight loss surgery has risen four-fold in the last two years.

One person a week is now having bariatric surgery at a cost of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

It has sparked debate on whether or not surgery such as the fitting of a gastric band - an expensive and drastic option - should be widely available.

Critics have said healthy living methods should be driven into residents at an early age to reduce the risk of obesity, and NHS Lothian itself said while there were some genuine cases where the surgery was needed, avoiding excessive fatness should be achieved through exercise and good diet.

The health board's medical director Dr Charles Swainson said: "The fundamental thing is that people have to learn how to lose weight and then maintain a healthy lifestyle, which can be done with help from their GP in their community.

"For those small number of people who have complications and suffer from conditions such as diabetes, bariatric surgery may be the best option."

Figures released through Freedom of Information showed 48 people had surgery carried out last year, compared to 22 in 2008/09 and only 10 in 2007/08. The cost has also escalated, from 100,000 two years ago to more than 300,000 in the last 12 months.

Dr Swainson said there were a number of factors contributing to the rise.

He said: "The causes of increasing obesity are complex and include lifestyle change with an increase in the amount of fats and sugars in diets, combined with reduced opportunity for physical activity through higher levels of car use."

Official guidelines state bariatric surgery should not be considered until every other avenue had been exhausted.

Politicians said the statistics showed there was a need to take a tougher line on obesity.

Lothians Conservative MSP Gavin Brown said: "We need to increase awareness of the damaging effects created by a poor diet and insufficient exercise.

"Early intervention and prevention has to be the main strategy."

Daryl Taylor, chief executive of SureSlim, an Edinburgh-based company which encourages weight loss through more natural solutions, said: "Surgery doesn't actually teach the patient how to address their relationship with food."