Press Release

£6.3 billion fat bill by 2015 shows Britain is fast becoming the 'obesity capital of the world' - Council leaders warn

7 October 2008

Responding to the figures from the Department of Health today that obesity could cost NHS £6.3bn by 2015, council leaders have warned that social services will increasingly have to step in to deal with cases where the welfare of dangerously overweight children is put at risk.

The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents over 400 councils in England and Wales, is calling for a national debate about the extent to which dangerous childhood obesity could be considered as a factor contributing to parental neglect.

Council social services have only become involved in isolated cases until now, where it has been judged that children’s health is being put at risk by their parents. However, the LGA is warning that as obesity increasingly becomes a problem, it is likely that local authorities will have to step in more and more to deal with the problem, normally through offering help and advice to parents and keeping the welfare of children under review.

The call comes as town halls set out eight main ways in which Britain’s obesity epidemic is having an expensive impact on local public services. The LGA will say that Britain is fast becoming the ‘obesity capital of the world’ and even more must be done to stop the nation’s waistline continuing to expand.

The eight main impacts on council services are:

Councils stepping in to deal with cases where the welfare of dangerously overweight children is put at risk

The cost to social services of caring for house-bound people suffering from the range of conditions and illnesses that are the consequence of obesity, including arthritis, heart disease and diabetes

Furniture in school classes, gyms and canteens are having to be made wider for larger children and to meet new standards

Town halls widening crematoria furnaces to cater for spiralling numbers of stouter clients, costing tens of thousands of pounds

Fire services being called in to winch obese members of the public out of dangerous buildings in emergencies such as fire

Ambulances being re-equipped with extra-wide stretchers and winches for obese people

Councils having to provide obese residents with adaptations to their houses and help with the provision of walking aids

Fears that local public transport, including buses and trams, will be able to accommodate fewer passengers as people get bigger

Cllr David Rogers, LGA spokesperson on public health, said:

“The nation’s expanding waistline threatens to have a devastating impact on our public services. It’s a massive issue for public health but it also risks placing an unprecedented amount of pressure on council services.

”Obesity is increasingly costing the council taxpayer dear. It falls to social services to care for the house-bound obese adults, to invest money in encouraging people to be active and to replace school furniture that is just too small for larger pupils. Council equipment and infrastructure is having to be modified to deal with a population that is getting larger and larger.

“Councils are increasingly having to consider taking action where parents are putting children’s health in real danger. As the obesity epidemic grows these tricky cases will keep on cropping up.

“Councils would step in to deal with an under-nourished and neglected child so should a case with a morbidly obese child be different? If parents consistently place their children at risk through bad diet and lack of exercise is it right that a council should step in to keep the child's health under review?

“It is vital that councils, Primary Care Trusts and the NHS work with parents to ensure that children don’t end up dangerously overweight in the first place.

“There needs to be a national debate about the extent to which it is acceptable for local authorities to take action in cases where the welfare of children is in real jeopardy. The UK is fast becoming the obesity capital of the world and the effect of spiralling obesity amongst children is particularly worrying.

“We need to eat better, exercise more and lead healthier lives in general and councils play a huge part in that. From providing children with free fruit and vegetables and planning towns and cities that encourage walking, to encouraging people to get into the gym and into sports, town halls are on the frontline of tackling obesity.”