People diagnosed with diabetes linked to obesity should be quickly assessed for weight loss surgery, according to finalised NHS guidelines.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which advises the NHS in England, said obesity was an "immense problem".
Charity Diabetes UK said surgery could be beneficial, but had risks.
About 10% of NHS budgets is spent treating diabetes and its complications.
Weight loss surgery is "good for patients and cost saving for the NHS", the advisory body said.
Obesity had a "huge personal health cost to individuals and an enormous financial cost to the NHS", it said.
Prof Mark Baker, the centre for clinical practice director at NICE, said: "Obesity is directly linked to type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, arthritis and it affects people's mental health.
"It is a major issue, if not the major issue, for the health service in the coming years."
Obese people with recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes should be assessed for weight loss surgery quickly, NICE said.
"Hopefully the impact will be that more patients will be aware that bariatric surgery is a safe, cost-effective treatment for diabetes," Dr Rachel Batterham, of University College London, told the BBC.
More on this story here.
Expensive surgery with serious risks, expensive drugs that are not effective, many carrying side effects. NICE and the NHS will try anything, other than change their stance on what constitutes a healthy and long term sustainable diet for a diabetic. I suspect every Doctor has diabetics on his books holding non diabetic numbers, and the Doctor knows a low carb high fat diet is the key. How long will the madness continue?
Eddie
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