Many young weight-loss surgery patients 'super-obese'

Nearly 40% of under-25s who have weight-loss surgery in the UK are classified as super-obese, according to new figures.

Surgeons say this is evidence of "a clear failure of strategies to prevent weight gain in young people".

Overall, more patients are having weight-loss surgery and, on average, they are getting more obese and more ill by the time of surgery.

A leading bariatric surgeon said severe obesity threatens to bankrupt the NHS.

The figures are contained in a report, from the National Bariatric Surgery Registry, which includes information on more than 18,000 weight-loss operations in 137 UK hospitals between 2010 and 2013.

The operations were made up of 9,526 gastric bypass procedures, 4,705 gastric band operations and 3,797 sleeve gastrectomy operations.

The aim of bariatric surgery is to improve the overall health of very obese patients, for whom dieting and lifestyle changes have not made any difference.

The report concludes that bariatric surgery is both safe and effective.

More on this story here.

Eddie