Ten-fold rise in gastric bands and other weight-loss ops

The number of people in England undergoing surgery on the NHS to help them lose weight has increased ten-fold in less than a decade.

The British Medical Journal (BMJ) reports operations such as gastric banding and bypasses rose from 238 a year to more than 2,543 in 2007.

Researchers from Imperial College London said more obese patients were now aware that surgery could help them.

The Department of Health said drugs and surgery should always be a last resort.

Experts at the National Institute for health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommended in 2002 that people classed as "morbidly obese" should be considered for surgery if other weight-loss methods had failed.

You can read the article in full on the BBC Health website: HERE

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