A million hospital admissions linked to obesity in 2019-20

There were more than one million admissions made to NHS hospitals during 2019-20, where obesity was a factor.

The figure comes from NHS Digital and its Statistics on Obesity, Physical Activity and Diet; England, 2021 – an annual compendium of data on obesity, including hospital admissions, prescription items and obesity prevalence among adults and children.

It shows that, in total, there were 1.02 million Finished Admission Episodes (or FAEs – the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider) with obesity as a primary or secondary diagnosis.

This marks a significant increase of 17 per cent on 2018-19.

Women accounted for two-thirds (64 per cent) of admissions where obesity was a factor.

The Net Ingredient Cost (the basic cost of a drug as listed in the drug tariff or price lists) of prescribed drugs decreased by 16 per cent in 2020 – from £10.4m to £8.8m.

The prevalence of obesity is also on worrying levels.

In total, around two thirds of UK adults are now overweight or obese, with more men (68 per cent) falling into the broad category than women (60 per cent).

More than a quarter of both men (27 per cent) and women (29 per cent) are now deemed clinically obese.

• To read the full report, click here for NHS Digital.