77 year old's fat busting op as NHS spends £20 million on obesity

Cash-strapped hospital chiefs spent £8,000 fitting a gastric band - on a man aged SEVENTY-SEVEN. 

The case emerged as new figures reveal the cost of doing the ops on obese patients who say they cannot lose weight by dieting has doubled in three years to £20million. 

The data, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, shows 16 NHS trusts did the surgery on over-70s in the past year, at an average cost of £8,000. 

While the oldest person to have the op was the 77-year-old, from the East Riding of Yorkshire, the youngest was just 14. 

Guidelines say surgery should only be done as a last resort. But 4,300 were carried out in 2009 - the highest annual number yet - and GPs are being swamped by increasing numbers of patients who say they are unable to lose weight by dieting or exercise. 

Bands reduce the amount of food which can pass through the stomach so patients feel full for longer. 

The Department of Health said: "Obesity is one of the biggest health challenges we face. Diet and more activity should be tried first. Treating patients with drugs or surgery is rightly a clinical decision." 

And Tam Fry, chairman of the Child Growth Foundation and a member of the National Obesity Forum, said: "For many overweight people healthy eating and exercise isn't enough. 

"Surgery is cost-effective because it brings weight down instantly by a huge amount and means patients are less likely to acquire illnesses which would cost a fortune to treat."