Why does the NHS ignore the risks of - Slimming World

							Press release: August 2010


              Why does the NHS ignore the risks of obesity surgery?

New figures showing a nine fold increase in the number of people having weight loss
surgery over the last five years have been labelled “an unnecessary expense for the NHS
and a danger to lives of individuals”.

The criticism by Slimming World comes after figures from the NHS Information Centre
revealed that the number of patients having gastric surgery increased from 480 procedures
in 2003-04 to 4,246 procedures in 2008-09.

According to the British Medical Journal (BMJ), between one in 300 and three in 300
people die as a result of having weight loss surgery – a figure that Slimming World says is
“horrifying and unacceptable”.

Jacquie Lavin, Slimming World head of nutrition and research says: “What if a slimming
club with 300,000 members like us, was to declare that, while the potential long term
health benefits of joining are enormous, around one in 300 of its members will die from
doing so? Or that one in 20 is at risk of serious complications such as infection or gut
perforations. It‟s horrifying and there would quite rightly be enormous public outcry.
People need to be made aware that surgery is not a quick fix and, in fact, that it can be
potentially life threatening.”

Funded by the taxpayer, weight loss surgery costs the NHS £4,000-£8,000 per patient for
a gastric band or £8,000-£15,000 per patient for a gastric bypass. Yet a 12-week course at
Slimming World costs just £55.68, and research published in the journal of Public Health
showed that, on average, patients lose 6.4% of their body weight when attending 10 out of
12 weeks, and over half go on to self fund afterwards. This initial outlay sets patients on the
right path to achieving long term lifestyle change.

“Suggestions that increased access to obesity surgery is the best way to save money and
NHS funding are very wide of the mark because, as well as being expensive, surgery does
little to tackle the root cause of obesity,” continues Jacquie. “Surgery takes no real account
of an overweight person‟s state of mind, their motivation, their self-esteem or their
confidence to make long-term changes. It also does little to equip them with the support,
motivation, information and practical skills they and their family need to move forward
after treatment, as they battle to change from their old eating habits, unhealthy lifestyles
and inactive routines.


“For many overweight people, failure to keep to the many diets out there based around
hunger and restriction has sent them into a cycle of failure and plunging self-esteem.
Suggestions that surgery is the only solution to the problem can only serve to heighten
these feelings of failure and lack of control, putting the solution well and truly in someone
else‟s hands and leaving the individual bereft of the very support they needed in the first
place.

“At Slimming World, with 40 years experience of working with overweight and obese
people, we have learnt that the key to long term weight management is a healthy, generous
and realistic plan that allows those who struggle with their weight to eat to satisfy their
appetite with healthier foods. Combined with effective ongoing group support it provides a
real long term solution for individuals, healthy habits that they can then pass on to future
generations. What overweight people really need is compassionate support, without
humiliation or guilt, that equips them to make lifestyle changes that are sustainable in the
long term and that they can return to as many times as they need to for success. This is a
long term healthy lifestyle change. There is no risk, the cost to the NHS or the individual is
minimal and, unlike surgery, it empowers the individual and gives them the strength to
take control of their lives and to make changes that will last a lifetime.”

                                            -ends-

Slimming World has two case studies available of members who approached their GP’s
for gastric surgery, but instead took control of their own lives and lost a large amount of
weight by joining Slimming World and making healthy lifestyle changes. These case
studies are available for interview.


Stuart Howells is Slimming World‟s Man of the Year 2010. A little over two years ago the
dad of four from South Wales weighed over 24st and went to his GP to beg him for surgery
after trying a number of restrictive diets and a prescription obesity drug without
success. His weight had led to him giving up his job as a family support worker for children
with learning disabilities and he also had to be hooked up to a machine as weight-induced
sleep apnoea1 meant he was unable to breathe on his own at night. However, at the surgery
a nurse who attended Slimming World herself invited Stuart to go along with her. Stuart
never looked back. In less than two years he lost an incredible 12st and his confidence has
soared. He has regained his old job, loves cooking healthy dishes, is very active and feels
like a new man.


Suzanne Wyatt from Huntingdon in Cambridge weighed 14st 11.5lb when she visited her
GP to ask for gastric surgery to tackle her weight. At 5 foot 2 inches Suzanne‟s BMI was in
the obese category and she was told she qualified for surgery but, because of the risks, she
was advised by her doctor to seriously consider any possible health implications. When a
customer put a Slimming World poster in her shop window she decided to give it a try „so I
could honestly say I tried everything before going for surgery‟. Since then she hasn‟t looked
back. Learning to cook healthily and benefitting from the support of a likeminded group of
slimmers she‟s lost 5st 11.5lbs in just two years. On GMTV today she said she thinks people
should consider all of their options carefully before rushing into something as drastic as
surgery.
Picture by Bill Morton/Slimming World Magazine.

For further information or to arrange an interview please contact the
Slimming World press office on 01773 546101, 01773 546039 or 01773 546037
or email: public.relations@slimming-world.com

Notes to Editors

·   Slimming World is the largest and most advanced slimming organisation in the
    UK. Margaret Miles-Bramwell (OBE, FRSA) founded the company in 1969 and there
    are now more than 6,700 groups held weekly nationwide via a network of 2,700
    Slimming World trained Consultants.
·   300,000 members attend Slimming World every week and achieve outstanding
    success.
·   Members lose 17,857 stones every week: 2,551 stones every day, over 106 stones every
    hour, that‟s 1 stone 10 lbs lost every minute of every day with Slimming World.
·   Slimming World pioneered referral schemes in the UK and actively supports the
    building of partnerships with the NHS and local authorities to develop effective
    strategies to manage overweight and obesity in the community. Slimming World works
    with university researchers and specialists in an active research programme to further
    knowledge of the causes and treatment of obesity.
·   Slimming World‟s healthy eating plan, Food OptimisingÒ, and the principles behind
    Slimming World‟s philosophy are based on a deep understanding of the challenges
    faced by overweight people. Slimming World integrates practical, up-to-date dietary
    advice with a highly developed support system.
·   Slimming World Consultants receive specific training in dietary aspects and the role of
    physical activity in weight control. The highly developed training focuses on facilitating
    behaviour change in a group environment, acknowledged by experts as being the most
    effective way to support long-term weight management.
·   In 2009 Slimming World celebrated its 40th Anniversary and four decades of helping
    people to lose weight without deprivation, guilt or hunger.