An apple-a-day almost as good as statins for cardiovascular health

An apple-a-day really could keep the doctor away, as the old saying goes, after Oxford University scientists found that eating one apple each day could be comparable to taking a statin in the battle to stave off heart attacks and strokes.

In fact, the scientists behind the new research – based on modelling and not an actual clinical study – claim that if every person over the age of 50 ate just one apple per day, there could be as many as 8,500 heart attack and stroke deaths avoided in the UK each year.

Amazingly, this is almost on par with the figure for if everyone over the age of 50 was prescribed statins, according to the findings published in the British Medical Journal.

This would then result in an additional 17.6 million people on statin medication and a potential 9,400 more deaths avoided each year in the UK. Doctors have previously spoken of their belief that a great number of the population would benefit massively from taking statins, with one American doctor last year arguing that a ‘statins for all’ approach should be considered.

“Statins and apples are both iconic,” lead researcher Dr Adam Briggs, of the British Heart Foundation Health Promotion Research Group at Oxford University said.

“An apple a day is known throughout the English-speaking world as a saying for health, and statins are now some of the most widely prescribed drugs in the world. So, when you now have a debate in the medical world about increasing the amount of statins prescribed for primary prevention, we wanted to look at what that would mean for population health and if there were other ways of doing it.”

Those behind the analysis say that theoretically, any fruit should suffice, but getting people to eat more fruit would be a challenging task for anybody. Past population surveys seem to suggest that as many as two-thirds of adults in the UK are simply not getting their 5-a-day portion of fruit and vegetables.

Nine in 10 of us do consume at least one portion a day, according to Dr Briggs, but he says we would all benefit greatly from eating more.

Dr Briggs says: “What we’re trying to say from this analysis is that dietary changes initiated at the population level can have a really meaningful effect on population health,” he said. “And second, so can increasing drug prescriptions. Now, we’re not trying to say that people should be swapping their statins for apples; that’s not where we’re going. However, if they want to add an apple to that as part of disease prevention, then by all means do so, because you’ll be further along in reducing your risk of fatal heart attacks and strokes.”

Interestingly, the cost of statin therapy from the drug alone would only be £180 million and around £260 million for the apples. The authors do say however that the NHS may be able to negotiate a freeze on the cost of apples, “although defrosted apples may not be so palatable,” they state.

Almost 80% of adults don’t do enough exercise

Nearly eight out of every 10 adults in England may not be getting enough exercise each week and putting their health at risk.

This worrying statistic comes from a study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and conducted by the University of Bristol, where researchers looked at data from over one million adults in England from the Active People Surveys (APS).  It was discovered that 80% were not adhering to governmental targets of engaging in moderate exercise at least 12 times in a four-week time period.
The APS analyses an individual’s socioeconomic position in addition to factors such as the weather and availability of sports facilities to them.

According to the researchers, the study demonstrates a clear association between a person’s education, household income and local area deprivation in accordance with the amount of physical activity they engage in.

It was found that better educated and wealthier individuals were more likely to exercise, whilst the poorer and less educated were more likely to not bother with much exercise. However on the whole, the majority of adults are seemingly way under the recommended levels of activity required to keep healthy.

Those with a degree apparently only had a 12% chance of being inactive but those without any qualifications were in fact three times more likely to not exercise.

Other findings from the study were the fact 8% of people physically capable of walking had not done this for even a mere five minutes continuously in the previous four weeks. Involvement in the most common activities was found to be ‘very low’.

In addition, researchers said nearly half (46%) had walked for less than 30 minutes continuously during leisure time, whilst 88% had not been swimming and a staggering 90% had not even been to a gym in the last four weeks.

Unsurprisingly, the study findings suggested that warm weather provided people with more motivation to exercise and rain decreased the amount of physical activity.

Carol Propper, professor of economics at the university’s Centre for Market and Public Organisation, said: “Physical inactivity is the most important modifiable health behaviour for chronic disease, so knowing who is physically inactive is important for designing cost-effective policy interventions.”

Tam Fry, spokesman for the National Obesity Forum and honorary chairman of the Child Growth Foundation, hit out at the figures and said: “No-one should be at all surprised by these woeful statistics,” and blamed the government for not  doing enough to use the London 2012 Olympics as a springboard for more participation in grassroots sport.

To stay healthy, NHS guidelines state that adults aged 19-64 should try to be active daily and get at least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week. This can include fast walking, hiking, volleyball, rollerblading or basketball. However, on top of this the NHS recommends to engage in muscle-strengthening exercises on 2 or more days each week. This can include heavy gardening (such as digging and shovelling), lifting weights, yoga and exercises that use your body weight for resistance (such as push-ups and sit-ups).

It is apparent that many of the population are simply not doing enough to stay active and this in conjunction with poor diets are causing more and more people to become overweight or obese. The good news for those overweight or obese is that it is never too late to make positive changes and a healthy, balanced diet in conjunction with exercise and a weight loss aid such as Xenical, Alli, or XLS-Medical will provide you with the tools to live a much healthier life.

Healthier people should receive priority healthcare, says think-tank

A think-tank organisation yesterday spoke of their belief that patients who adhere to a healthy lifestyle that is low in dietary fat and engage in regularly exercise should be placed at the top of NHS waiting lists for operations.

Perhaps controversially, the think-tank Demos have stated that people should have the ability to prove they are living a healthy life via supermarket receipts and gym membership forms and therefore have access to priority NHS treatment. Their ideas could also involve moving up professional patients higher up the queue when booking a GP appointment for a non-emergency issue.

In their somewhat contestable report that was published yesterday, a wide range of recommendations are given that seem to urge the British public in to taking responsibility for their own health and wellbeing – instead of purely punishing the ‘lazy’ people consistently who consumed a poor diet. The report was constructed after liaising with experts, policy makers and politicians.

Another recommendation from Demos is that those patients who receive benefits should be rewarded with more money if they are exercising and eating a balanced diet with more fruit and vegetables. Demos want supermarkets to provide feedback on shopping baskets, making shoppers aware of the benefits of fruit and vegetables as well as the dangers of alcohol and saturated fats.

The think-tank argue that the current system needs addressing as patients who leading an unhealthy, sedentary lifestyle are at a much higher chance of requiring the already dwindling resources and funds available to the NHS.

In addition, Demos are trying to coax ministers into exploring the schemes offered by many insurance companies whereby there are incentives to those customers with healthier lifestyles such as reduced rates on gym memberships.  Demos comment: “There is scope for the NHS to provide its non-emergency services in a way that takes account of responsible behaviour.”

The report’s author, Max Wind-Cowie, said: “Obesity, type two diabetes, smoking and the overconsumption of alcohol are things which cost the NHS, which is a pooled resource we all share, huge amounts of money, as well as actually making people’s lives unhappy and reducing their living standards. So we’re arguing that people who take the option of sharing their Tesco club card information, their gym information, with their doctor – it’s up to them whether they want to share it or not – and then allow their doctor to monitor that, we would empower doctors to reward people in a variety of ways.”

As with many disputable ideas put forth by think-tanks such as Demos, there are oppositions to the suggestions who believe there are better methods of tackling such issues, in this case the spiralling obesity crisis in the UK. Katherine Murphy, the chief executive of the Patients Association, said: “Proactive investment in prevention, public campaigns and health literacy can deliver change more constructively than punitive sanctions.”

Although it could be a nice prospect the thought of being rewarded simply for leading a healthy life, not many people will probably enjoy the idea of their private shopping habits being transmitted to the government.

The responsibility of the public to ensure their health is properly maintained is a topic bound to cause divisions. However, there are steps you can take to reduce the risk of developing a disease or health problem such as quitting smoking, engaging in regular exercise and eating a balanced diet.

Calls for tax on fizzy drinks to ease UK obesity epidemic

Doctors have spoken out on ways that the UK obesity epidemic could be tackled as Brits continue to pile on the pounds. They are calling for fizzy drinks to be heavily taxed, the number of fast food outlets close by to schools and colleges to be severely limited, as well as pre-watershed junk food advertising to be completely banished.

The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AMRC), who represent almost every one of the 220,000 UK doctors, say rapidly expanding waistlines are a ‘huge crisis’ and have caused them to create their own action plan on how to fight the problem. In their report, the AMRC state that existing measures have been unsuccessful at affecting obesity levels and argue that unhealthy food should be viewed in the same light as cigarettes.

Professor Terence Stephenson, the chair of the Academy, said: “That required things like a ban on advertising and a reduction in marketing and the association of smoking with sporting activities – that helped people move away from smoking. I choose what I eat or whether I smoke, what people have told us is they want help to swim with the tide rather than against the current to make the healthy choice the easy one.”

Therefore, the AMRC propose a number of solutions that include 20% tax being implemented on sugary soft drinks for at least a period of a year – urging ministers, councils, the NHS and food organisations to take action against what it deems to be ‘the greatest public health crisis affecting the UK’.

Its recommendations include:

. No advertising on foods high in saturated fat, sugar and salt prior to 9pm.

. More taxes on sugary drinks to increase prices by at least 20%.

. Less fast food outlets near schools, colleges, leisure centres and other places where children convene.

. A £100m budget set aside interventions such as weight-loss surgery.

. Junk food and vending machines in hospitals to be banned, where all food must meet the same nutritional standards as in schools.

. Food labels to include calorie information for children.

Other recommendations suggestions include NHS staff discussing with overweight patients about their eating and exercise tendencies and guidance for new parents on how best to feed their children.

The academy’s new proposals have finally been released after a year-long investigation into the country’s obesity epidemic. It is now estimated that one in four adults (around 26%) in England is obese – I.e. with a body mass index that is between 30 and 40. Even worse, health experts predict that by the year 2050, 60% of all men will be obese in addition to half of women and a quarter of children.

The following graph demonstrates how the obesity levels within the UK have been steadily rising in recent years:


Prof Stephenson added that the new ideas will not offer a full solution to the UK’s obesity crisis, and continued to criticise sugary drinks for being nothing more than ‘just water and sugar’. He put forth his dismay at a culture where it is the norm for somebody to casually consume a litre of fizzy drink at the cinema. A tax would help to ‘encourage people to drink more healthy drinks’ he said.

Accident and Emergency waiting times are at their worst levels in a decade

A new report suggests that the number of patients forced to wait in accident and emergency (A&E) departments for more than four hours before receiving treatment, has hit its highest total in a decade. The four hour target was first implemented by the Labour government back in 2003/04.

Research carried out by health think tank The King’s Fund indicates that between October and December 2012, around 232,000 patients were waiting for more than four hours – equivalent to 4.3% of all the patients at A&E wards around the country. Although technically still reaching the government’s aim of 95% of patients being attended to in that time, it seems the situation has been getting steadily worse over the last few months.

The 95% target was reduced from 98% by the Coalition government who argued it enables doctors the facility to more efficiently study and treat complex cases and less urgent cases are not prioritised over the more serious ones.

The 232,000 patients stuck waiting for over four hours is a 21% increase contrasted against the same time period in 2011 and represents the highest number for those particular months since 2003.

In the report, it says: “The proportion of patients waiting more than four hours from arrival in A&E to admission, transfer or discharge in the third quarter of 2012/13 (October to December) rose by 21 per cent over the previous year and 38 per cent on the previous quarter. Nevertheless, overall, the NHS remained within target on this waiting times measure – although around a quarter, or 65 trusts recorded breaching the target during this quarter affecting more than 232,000 patients.”

Commenting on the findings, Professor John Appleby, Chief Economist at The King’s Fund said: “This is probably a combination of factors. By relaxing the target, the system will move towards that new relaxed level and is readjusting, plus demand is rising for A&E attendances and if the rest of the hospital is under pressure, and cannot discharge patients as quickly, you get a blockage in A&E. It doesn’t take much for things to start to go wrong. The percentages may look small but it is affecting a lot of people now. 232,000 in that quarter so nearing a million if that were repeated year round. Also the numbers of trusts it is affecting is increasing showing it is no longer just a problem for a few trusts.”

Some of the key points of the report were:

. Many patients who required admittance onto a ward were actually just being left on trolleys for long lengths of time.

. A survey of NHS finance directors found many were concerned about budgets, with a third complaining that the quality of patient care in their area had deteriorated in the previous year – double the number of those who had similar claims in the last survey.

. Around a quarter of all the countries hospital trusts have reported failures in meeting the A&E target – showing that the issue urgently needs addressing.

Prof Appleby added: “The NHS faces unprecedented financial pressures, and there are growing worries that patient care will suffer. For social care, it will be increasingly difficult for councils to make further savings without directly cutting services or affecting quality. Health and care services have coped well until now, but it is clear that many organisations expect things to become much more difficult over the coming year.”

Health Minister Lord Howe also spoke on the report and said: “Patients need to be able to rely on prompt, high quality, urgent and emergency care and treatment. We are clear that patients shouldn’t face excessive waits for treatment. Where there is extra demand on services, hospitals and staff need to work together to ensure that patients get the care they need.”

Anger at hospital patients being denied the latest treatments

A new report commissioned by the Department of Health (DoH) paints a damning picture of the NHS’ priorities and procedures, showing that they are inexplicably not prescribing the latest and most effective medications for bowel, brain, lung and ovarian cancer that have been previously given the green-light by NHS watchdog National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). The report details how often treatments approved by NICE are being prescribed by hospitals and GPs.

Some of the new treatments have incredibly prolonged the lives of terminally ill patients by over a year in some cases whilst others managed to improve the survival rates of patients by roughly a quarter, so the news that the drugs are not being utilised will no doubt infuriate families across the UK.

The same DoH report also documents how numerous hospitals are seemingly refusing to prescribe the most up-to-date treatments for other health conditions such as arthritis, asthma, Crohn’s Disease, heart attacks and multiple sclerosis.

It would also seem certain patients would benefit over others luckily by circumstance as some hospitals have been routinely prescribing the latest drugs for several years compared to others who have not bothered at all and sticking to oldest ‘tried and tested’ treatments, regardless of if there is anything potentially more effective for the patient.

Ministers and charities have blasted the findings of the DoH, saying it is ‘completely unacceptable’ that the new drugs have been held back for so long – some being approved by NICE seven years ago – and that hospital patients are being denied access to treatment that could significantly improve symptoms and even extend their life.

Specific reasons for the refusal of many hospitals to offer the new treatments to patients can be only speculation until answers are demanded from the government, but some believe it may be because doctors are cautious to prescribe drugs they are not fully familiar with and will instead remain with treatments they have trusted over the years.

Health Minister Lord Howe reacted angrily to the news and said: “Patients have a right to medicines and treatments that have been approved by NICE and are clinically appropriate for them, and it is completely unacceptable if this is not happening. We are determined to drive out unjustified variation.”

Adding to Lord Howe’s comments was Andrew Wilson, Chief Executive of the Rarer Cancers Foundation, who said: “NICE was meant to end the postcode lottery but these figures show that it is alive and well. Access to drugs should not depend on where you live or in which hospital you are treated.”

Although health officials protest that the information contained in the report is ‘experimental’ and too early to draw conclusions, some facts are plain to see and include the staggering news that a drug for advanced bowel cancer has not been utilised at any time by at least 25 hospital trusts – despite receiving NICE approval way back in 2006.

Other findings show that 15 trusts are spurning the opportunity to provide the drug Erlonitib to lung cancer patients. It works at preventing the development of tumours for approximately a year and was approved by NICE in 2008.

However, it gets worse – it has been discovered that there are 24 trusts around to country who are not offering the drug Paclitaxel to women with advanced ovarian cancer. If they had the medication, it could extend their lifespan by an additional year.

Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, also gave her opinion on the subject, saying: “Patients have the right to drugs and treatments that have been recommended by NICE for use in the NHS, if their doctor says they are clinically appropriate. Any perception that there is a rationing of NICE approved medication taking place at a local level is a real concern.”

‘Weight Loss Ward’ to be featured in ITV1 documentary

One of Britain’s first dedicated obesity hospital units will be shown tomorrow night in an ITV1 documentary fittingly titled ‘Weight Loss Ward’. The hospital featured in the documentary is Sunderland Royal Hospital – in an area where shockingly more than 40% of the adults are overweight and such a ward is needed.

In fact as the national obesity epidemic continues to get worse and the NHS feels the impact of the £500 million it is losing from such problems, it will be no surprise to see more of these ‘weight loss wards’ appearing up and down the country.

Everything on these wards is super-sized. The doors have to be twice their usual width, every wheelchair has been reinforced with extra strength and could even fit two people with a normal ranged body mass index (BMI) and the beds are monstrous in their size.

Staff members at the hospital have been forced to use 50 stone max weight industrial strength scales to determine how much one patient weighed – 29-year-old Terry Gardner who was eventually found to tip the scales at 47 stone after previously being housebound for a year before being admitted to the hospital.

Terry is one of the largest patients ever treated at the Sunderland weight loss unit; too big to fit through his own bathroom door and his weight means he cannot use one of the reinforced ward beds, forcing staff to draft an even stronger one in from elsewhere and costing them £150 each day.

Terry’s story along with that of several others on the ward, will be featured tomorrow in the documentary. Viewers will see Terry pictured in his wedding photo just ten years prior, cutting a more drastically slender figure. He and many other patients are at their last resort at hospital and hoping for surgical intervention to basically save their lives. The documentary will show possible reasons why they have reached the size they are, the harsh truths about gastric surgery and what the weight loss surgery means to them – as well as the massive demands places on the shoulders of all the staff working at the unit.

One of these demands is keeping Terry to adhere to his strict 1,500 calorie per-day diet. They have decided this low calorie intake is essential for him to lose weight initially as he is too unhealthy to go in for a weight loss operation.

Tragically, Terry’s father passed away when just eight years old and he found himself put into care at 12. Now the father of two young children himself, he finds himself too big to wash his own body. He explains: “I feel like my weight is eating my life. There are times I say to my wife, why are you here? I am trapped in my own body.”

In the programme, consultant surgeon Peter Small does not hold back in his honesty of Terry’s situation and initial slow progress in shifting any weight. He says: “There is no medical problem that is causing people to be obese. The vast majority of people are obese because their calorie intake over time has not matched their calorie burn. The usual patient we get has been trying all the diets under the sun and all the medicines under the sun and they’ve failed. And they’re just crying for their life back.”

Regarding Terry, Mr Small explains: “We want him to confront his behaviour. He is almost pathologically obese, but why? Often complex psychological factors cause people to overeat.”
After being admitted on to the ward, Terry is provided with some basic exercises to carry out on his Zimmer frame. Mr Small says: “I have had younger and lighter people than him die on me while they are still on the list. But if we can get a balloon into him, it will help.”

However, in the documentary, Terry’s progress is shown to be minimal at best following three weeks on his 1,500 calorie-a-day diet. In fact, after three weeks he has lost just a single pound and staff suspect he has been allowed to buy crisps and fizzy drinks from the hospital trolley. “He is not cheating me… he is cheating himself. But it costs £100 a day to keep someone here”, says Mr Small, who is also irritated by Terry’s claim of an under-active thyroid being the cause for his weight gain. “Until he’s honest, we can’t help him. If he wants to bite the hand trying to not feed him…”
After a month though, the realisation of his grim situation has finally hit home with Terry and remarkably he has managed to lose a stone. “I think he realised if he didn’t help himself, we wouldn’t,” says Mr Small. Due to Terry’s shift in attitude and continued weight loss, he will soon be able to have a gastric balloon op.

With Gastric surgery costing an incredible £8,000, those who are obese could try clinically proven weight loss medication such as Xenical or XLS-Medical Fat Binder. Adopting a healthy lifestyle and diet in conjunction with one of these scientifically proven weight loss aids can help you lose weight and avoid ever ending up inside a weight loss ward such as the one at Sunderland Royal Hospital. Both Xenical and XLS-Medical are available today from Medical Specialists Pharmacy at incredibly low prices.

NHS mistakes increase as more patients are needlessly dying

Damming statistics have been released that show errors by NHS staff are increasing each year, needless deaths are occurring due to misdiagnosis, and hospitals are full to the extent that nurses and doctors are struggling to maintain the safety and quality of patient care resulting in almost 3,000 deaths each year and 7,500 being wrongly diagnosed, administered with wrong drugs or poorly cared for.

Titled ‘How Safe Is Your Hospital?’, a documentary was screened last night on BBC1 at 8.30pm for  Panorama showing just how huge pressure from increasing demand, limited finances and the biggest reorganisation in its history, is leaving thousands of patients at huge risk.

BBC Reporter Declan Lawn was documented exploring numerous serious problems in trusts across England and the latest figures of death rates will be seen.  In particularly, during 2011/12 it has been revealed that a shocking 2,864 patients died after mistakes were made by NHS staff. During 2010/11 there were 2,726 deaths due to similar reasons, representing a 5% increase. Viewers last night were shocked to learn that some of the mistakes made included elderly patients being misdiagnosed as having cancer when they in fact had heart failure, and thus receiving unnecessary and pointless treatment as their health declined.

Other errors that have been made include nurses failing to notice chest infections in new-born babies that may have been cured with adequate treatment such as antibiotics.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt reacted to the worrying statistics and acknowledged that there could be ‘pockets’ of poor care, similar to that seen during the 2008 Stafford Hospital scandal which erupted after an investigation by the Healthcare Commission following the Commission receiving news that there was ‘apparently high mortality rates in patients admitted as emergencies’ between January 2005 and March 2009. Approximately 1,200 patients were believed to have died as a result of varying examples of incompetence and mainly due to the scandal, the mortality rates of every NHS hospital are now able to be viewed online.

In a statement given for the Panorama documentary, the Health Secretary said: “Whilst failings in care at Mid-Staffordshire  NHS Foundation Trust have shocked many, we cannot say with confidence that some of those failings do not exist in pockets elsewhere in the NHS. Whilst the majority of patients receive excellent care from the NHS, we still have much to do to ensure quality of care is considered as important as quality of treatment throughout the system.”

Dr Mike Williams, of the University of Exeter, has conducted recent studies regarding hospital safety and says: “Doctors, nurses, and managers do not realise the level of harm that’s going on hospitals. Most hospitals are now having more and more patients coming through the front door. The money is at standstill, if not reducing. The number of staff are therefore at the same level, they’re having to do more work – and work harder and faster. The research is very clear that where staff have to work extremely hard they are much more likely to make mistakes.”

The BBC documentary into the NHS comes in the same week it has been revealed that hospitals are fully crammed with patients, leading to a decline in the quality of care that is available. Healthcare information firm Dr Foster – partially owned by the government – shows that bed occupancy rates are well over 85% on many occasions. This is the limit that is recommended in order for patients to receive good care and also not exposed to health risks.

The NHS themselves have previously stated that 85% or above puts them in a difficult position to provide high-quality care and keeping the rate below this can help to limit the chances of patients  contracting an infection within the hospital as well as ensuring that staff do not make any errors when dealing with patient’s medication.

Worryingly, it seems the problems could get a lot worse. More and more hospitals are on ‘red alert’, meaning they do not have many beds to spare. Others are even worse off though, declaring themselves on ‘black alert’, having to refuse any new admissions and direct patients elsewhere.

Great news for dieters as XLS-Medical becomes available

This month sees the release of the fat-binding weight loss aid, XLS-Medical. Many of us will have seen the advertising campaign on TV, however, is XLS-Medical worth considering. Previously XLS-Medical was only available from Boots and Lloyd’s pharmacy; however it has now been made available for general release. This can only be good news for the public because with more companies supplying it, the competition will be sure to bring the price down.

So what exactly is XLS-Medical? What does it contain? How does it work? Is it safe and most importantly does it work? XLS-Medical Fat Binder is a proven weight management aid which comes in tablet form. It can support weight loss efforts as it binds dietary fats in the stomach, preventing that fat from being absorbed by the body. XLS-Medical does this by absorbing the fat molecules to form a fat fibre complex. The fat fibre complex is too large to be absorbed and so is eliminated naturally in your stools when you go to the toilet.

XLS-Medical Fat Binder contains the clinically proven fat binder Litramine and essential fat soluble vitamins A, D and E. These added vitamins help compensate for the loss of fat soluble vitamins from the body. This loss can occur because you are reducing the amount of fat your body absorbs. XLS-Medical Fat Binder has been proven to bind up to 27.4% of fats from food before it replenishes the body with fat soluble vitamins.

The proven weight loss results are compelling in their own right, but it may also be useful to know that XLS-Medical Fat Binder is both gentle on the system, and also has an established safety profile, making it a very helpful weight management tool. It is unusual to experience any side effects. Eleven million packs of XLS-Medical have been sold to date in Europe, with no reported safety issues. Because of the way XLS-Medical works, it does not interfere with the body’s natural workings.

The recommendation for weight loss using XLS-Medical is to adopt a reduced calorie, lower fat diet in addition to regular exercise and to take 2 tablets 3 times a day after meals, with up to 6 tablets taken per day. The NHS suggests that people should aim for sensible weight loss, which is between one and two pounds (0.5 to 1 kilogram) per week. It is also recommended that people monitor their body mass index (BMI) and aim to remain within the healthy range of BMI, which is between 18.5 and 24.9.

XLS-Medical has been clinically proven to aid weight loss. If you consume 500 calories a day fewer than the recommended intake, exercise and take XLS-Medical according to the instructions, you should find that, after 12 weeks, you will have lost significantly more weight than you would have done through dropping calories and increasing exercise alone. This was the result shown in a recent clinical trial under strictly controlled conditions and involving 125 healthy volunteers.

In addition to this XLS-Medical provide an online support programme called ‘123 Hello Me’ which offers:  An interactive weight loss and BMI tracker, which will help you chart your progress and stay motivated, Regular reminders to take your tablets sent straight to your phone and daily hints, tips and encouragement from your personal virtual coach.

The information has been especially designed to be easy to understand and includes meal plans and simple exercise routines. The meal plans are based on those used in the clinical studies. They only contain everyday ingredients, so that they appeal and are useful to as many people as possible.

The 123 Hello Me programme was written by Dietician and Nutritionist Helen Bond who is a consultant dietician. She is the nutrition voice for BBC Radio Derby, a spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association and regularly contributes to the press. Helen is also fully registered with the British Dietetic Association, the Freelance Dieticians Group and the Health Professions Council.

The availability of XLS-Medical certainly looks like it is going to be an important tool in helping people lose weight. Here at Medical Specialists we have been already been helping people achieve weight loss through products such as Xenical and Alli, however now we are pleased to announce that we will be stocking XLS-Medical. Please feel free to ring or place an order online where we will be able to offer competitive prices.

NHS patient letters are typed up in India by poorly-paid workers

The National Health Service (NHS) has come under fire this week by MPs in the Commons for even more poor data handling. Already this year on numerous occasions the NHS have been in the media spotlight due to incompetence, such as earlier this year when we revealed that one of London’s biggest NHS trusts, Imperial College Healthcare, were involved in an investigation into 25 patient deaths due to shoddy data management.

This latest judgemental error on the NHS’ part stems from the fact it has now emerged that hundreds of thousands of confidential patient letters are being typed up by low-paid workers in India. After a patient visits his or her doctor, the doctor will speak into a tape recorder and dictate exactly what is to go into the patient’s referral letter. This saves the doctor a lot of time as usually a medical secretary can be delegated this task instead.

However shockingly it has recently come to light that instead of using UK workers, the NHS are laying off these staff and instead setting up contracts  with private firms abroad (such as in India), whereby these recordings are dispatched overseas and then returned a few weeks later. MPs are now warning there is a risk of ‘tragic consequences’ due to mistranslation from the Indian workers and especially after many doctors have started to complain that there are numerous errors visible on the patient letters.

Labour MP John Spellar, blasted this practice and said, “There is a safety issue. There’s the potential for something to go tragically wrong. If someone gives the wrong advice, and this is not picked up, then a patient could be misdiagnosed, or seen less urgently than they should be.” He further touched upon the current dire job situation in the UK, with more and more people being made redundant and said, “Unemployment in the UK is at unacceptable levels and the economy is suffering the worst double dip recession since the Second World War. Medical secretaries are being downgraded or laid off. This is work that could easily be based and carried out in the UK, maintaining jobs and keeping opportunities for our young people.”

Spellar was successful in obtaining statistics from the Freedom of Information Act, which provide more insight into the scale of the issue. In fact the figures show that in 2011/12, an incredible 234,000 letters were dispatched to India by the West Middlesex University Hospital trust in West London. In addition, Kingston Hospital in south-west London did the same for 17,000 letters, Epsom & St Helier did for 11,000, and The Whittington, in Archway, was about 90,000.

Many of the NHS trusts in question have tried to defend themselves and deflect even more criticism to come their way. They argue that is no danger of a breach in patient confidentiality because names and dates of birth are removed prior to being sourced abroad.

Despite this though, only last week in the Commons, former health secretary Andrew Lansley revealed that his own local hospital, Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, had originally been sending letters to India but then stopped this eventually after ‘seeing the quality of service that could be delivered here’.

As we have stressed previously, Medical Specialists absolutely guarantee 100% patient confidentiality at the core of our business practice. We do not send patient details whatsoever to any third parties and do not source any of our work or responsibilities overseas. We have in-house Doctors and Pharmacists, and our patients can be assured that their medical and contact details are safe with us. Private and confidential online consultations are discrete between the patient and doctor. In addition, information is processed online over a secure/encrypted connection and after receiving your order, we do not send spam, junk, or unnecessary correspondence via either post or email.

Those with hay fever are itching for the arrival of a new vaccine

Hay fever is without doubt one of the most prevalent allergic conditions in the United Kingdom, with an estimated 10 million sufferers just in England alone. Therefore it will be music to the ears of millions today to learn that scientists are developing a pioneering new vaccine that could result in sneezing and itchy eyes being a thing of the past. Ironically, the news comes in the same week that  weather experts have issued warnings that the pollen season could be extended by an additional six weeks due to the effects of global warning.

Antihistamine tablets such as Loratadine and sprays such as Nasonex provide effective relief from the bothersome symptoms that hay fever brings, but in severe cases where such treatments have not improved your condition, an allergy specialist may recommend ‘immunotherapy’. This is usually a three-year long period of injections containing high doses of the pollen you are allergic to, as a daily tablet that you put underneath your tongue, or in the form of drops.

However this current method for treating severe hay fever is incredibly expensive for the NHS, and can be massively inconvenient for the patient. It costs roughly £500 annually for the course of injections or a whopping £1,000 for a course of anti-allergy tablets or drops. Also, it is thought only about 1,000 of sufferers can benefit from these types of therapy.

The British scientists behind the breakthrough of the latest jabs claim that their ‘targeted’ approach will result in more cost-effective and efficient vaccines being made widely available. Researchers based at Imperial College London and King’s College London, carried out tests where they targeted a layer of skin in patients that they believe is a ‘hotline’ to the immune system.

As opposed to the more expensive injections, researchers based their experiments on much lower doses than before and using more shallow injections into an area of skin loaded with white blood cells (part of the immune system). The doses are about 2,000 smaller than previously and require a lot fewer injections, thus being less of a financial burden on the NHS.

Tests on 30 patients showed that their allergic reaction to grass pollen, (the most common allergen for hay fever sufferers), actually reduced over time when they were given the new low-dose vaccines. Next, a clinical trial will soon be underway involving a further 90 patients to determine if certain symptoms such as sneezing are decreased.

Dr Stephen Till, from King’s College London, spoke on the revolutionary developments and said, “This new vaccine is potentially applicable to far larger numbers than the existing one. If this approach proves to be effective it would define a new scientific and clinical principle that could also be applied to other allergic diseases such as asthma and food allergies. This could be a pivotal study in immunological research.”

Maureen Jenkins, the director of clinical services at the charity Allergy UK, also echoed Dr Till’s excitement about the new vaccine and she said, “The proposed vaccine, if successful, is much quicker and more straightforward than current immunotherapy treatment for hay fever, which takes years. It also has the potential to offer cost savings. If this series of injections proves effective in combating hay fever, it will be a wonderful step forward in tackling this common, but often underestimated allergy.”

Taxpayers foot the bill for breast reduction surgery in teenage girls

More shocking news regarding the obesity crisis in Britain has come to light this week, which could force the government’s hand in devising more effective ways to tackle the rising epidemic. According to Department of Health (DOH) figures, obese young girls are receiving breast reduction surgeries through the National Health Service (NHS), all paid for by the taxpayer of course.

Stats show that the youngest person to be given one of these operations was aged just 11 years old incredibly. Also, in the previous five years there has been more than 100 girls aged 16 who have undergone the procedures, some of which can cost the taxpayer a hefty £5,000 an operation. The most common age group for women to undergo breast reduction surgery is between 35 to 55 according to the figures, with the oldest being 90, and in the last five years there have been 21,328 women (of all ages) to have the surgery.

Health officials say that the need for these types of operations could be down to the fact that children are generally a lot heavier than previous times, and this extra weight is causing massive strain on their backs.

Critics have hit out at the news though, arguing that the young girls should not be permitted to have breast reduction surgeries in their teenage years at a time when their bodies are still in the development stages. Not only this, but many have blasted that the NHS should be not drained of £5,000 an operation at a time when their budgets are already being stretched thin due to a seemingly never-ending recession. Moreover, there are a high number of patients with more life-threatening health conditions who are not receiving adequate treatment and medication due to spiralling waiting lists, so this news will no doubt cause outrage.

The Department of Health have reacted to the fury, and spoke to try and defend the numbers, stating that the operations were allocated purely for clinical reasons, and not for aesthetic purposes. The clinical reasons they put forth include hyperplastic abnormalities (excessive increase of breast tissue), juvenile gigantomastia (excessive increase of breast tissue during adolescence), or giant fibroadeoma (a non-cancerous lump).

In addition, Tam Fry, from the National Obesity Forum, said: “Obesity will enlarge the breast size so it is perhaps natural that women concerned about their appearance would want to reduce the size of their breasts. Obesity on top of large breast size would make the back pain worse. It all goes in unison, and the solution is not to get fat. It can be hard to know when assessing young girls whether it is actual fatness or their breasts, so I wouldn’t consider breast reduction in children.”

The alarming figures to be released by the DOH may now prompt the government into serious action. More work needs to be done to promote healthy eating and regular exercise. We are a nation of fast-food and computer game addicts, and it seems the rot is starting at a very early age. Parents would be advised to get their children involved in active past-times such as football, netball, rounders, swimming, etc. and make sure they themselves eat their nutritious ‘5-a-day’. There is a better chance that children will eat more fruit and vegetables if their parents are doing the same thing!

Could a ‘Virtual Doctor’ improve patient care and save money?

For many elderly patients particularly ones suffering from diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease or diabetes, getting to the doctors can be an ordeal.

Such patients need to have their vital signs and other parameters regularly monitored in order to effectively control and treat their conditions. However such patients may only see their doctor or nurse for such checks every few months, and if there is a problem in between then often they will have to be admitted to hospital.

However there is now a programme called Telehealth that has been in development since 2007, and is now being trialed by the North Yorkshireand York Primary Care Trust, using 500 patients suffering from diseases such as COPD, heart disease and diabetes.

The equipment called a Telestation is placed in a patient’s home and can monitor key readings from a patient within just five minutes every morning. The equipment has an integral scale to weigh the patient, a blood pressure cuff to take blood pressure readings, a pulse oximeter to measure pulse and blood oxygen levels, a glucose meter to measure blood sugar levels and even has a video camera built in so the doctor/nurse can physically see the patient if the need arises.

The really clever part of the Telehealth system is that the Telestation wirelessly transmits the readings once taken, to the patient’s phone line where they are transmitted directly to the Telehealth central control, where their own dedicated Telehealth nurse will daily review the readings.

The machine verbally takes the patient step by step throughout the five minute checkup and will also ask pre-set questions as well as taking various readings. If any of the readings fall outside of the pre-set parameters, an alarm will be triggered and the patient will immediately be contacted by their own dedicated Telehealth nurse.

Vera who is 71 and is suffering from COPD was initially skeptical about the scheme, but after taking part in the year long trial Vera claimed that the Telehealth system is “the best thing since sliced bread and that they should be in everybody’s home.” Normally patients suffering from COPD can easily be susceptible to infections that though may be easy to treat, often escalate into much larger problems necessitating hospital admission. The reason for this is that often patients leave it too late to get help, however with the Telehealth system the infection can be nipped in the bud by early diagnosis and treatment. Patients such as Vera suffering from COPD are given medication rescue packs containing antibiotics and steroids that can be taken as soon as needed after a consultation with their Telehealth nurse.

Telehealth nurse Dawn Watson who looks after Vera, tells how by working remotely she can look after more than 200 patients instead of the normal caseload of closer to 30 patients. As well as improved patient care the Telehealth system could obviously cut costs for the NHS especially when you consider that seven out of ten hospital beds are occupied by patients with long term conditions like Vera’s.

Paul Burstow, the minister for care services, claimed at a conference in March that “Telehealth could save the NHS up to £1.2 billion by 2014.” That claim seems to be well backed up as the trial which claims to be a success was launched in 2007, cost £30million, lasted three and a half years and was one of the most complex trials ever carried out by the NHS.

However the jury is still out on whether the Telehealth system is capable of saving the amount of money claimed, and also whether it can provide the improved patient care it claims. The reason the jury is still out on this is that the data analysis is being carried out by five academic institutions, and that for the findings to be both credible and useful, the academic analysis needs to be peer reviewed (a vital process of evaluation by independent experts.)

Gutted with IBS at work? Don’t be…

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common condition of the digestive system that nearly all of us will have heard of in conversation. In fact, there is a probably good chance that you know somebody who is suffering from it. The symptoms include bloating, stomach cramps, constipation and diarrhoea. Unfortunately for the 12 million Brits affected by IBS, the symptoms usually strike intermittently, sometimes at the most inconvenient of times and can massively impact the day to day lives for sufferers.

One of major these impacts is the workplace. For somebody who is lucky enough to be blessed with a healthy-working digestive system, it may be difficult to fully appreciate the stress than can be caused by IBS or empathise with that work colleague who had to rush home because of a flare-up of their symptoms.

If the average person awakes in the morning to severe pain in their stomach, they can simply ring in sick to their employer and just return to work after a few days when the problems have begun to subside and they are feeling better. Imagine though having to wake up every single day to chronic abdominal cramps and unpredictable bowel movements, and this is before you have even arrived to work!

Even the commute to work would be stressful enough, panicking about if or when the symptoms could hit you again and your precise proximity to the closest toilet. Simply put: calling in sick each day is not a viable option. With Brits feeling the full force of the recession, many of us are forcing ourselves into work regardless of illness and this applies to those with IBS too. There are bills to be paid, mortgages hanging over us, and statutory sick pay just will not suffice.

In an ideal world for anybody who has IBS, they would be permitted to have their own private workspace and interminable access to their own luxurious bathroom area, without interruptions from others. As this isn’t always feasible, suffering with IBS in the workplace can create huge amounts of stress for those with the condition, which in itself can worsen symptoms as stress is one of the primary causes for IBS. If you are also stuck in a job you dislike or have a boss who is unsympathetic to your situation, this is not going to help matters either.

There are a wide range of problems and situations that could present themselves to IBS sufferers in regards to the workplace.  In severe cases, it is not uncommon for some people to experience three to five bowel movements before they have even left the house, often leaving them running late for work. On top of this, if you happen to work in a quiet office, the last thing you want to hear is a gurgling sound being emitted from your stomach due to the circulation of trapped wind. 

Having to try and cope with dealing with an unpredictable bowel can leave many people miserable at work. As any good Manager will be aware of; an unhappy employee will ultimately result in an unproductive employee. Moreover, trying to concentrate on a work task can seem an impossible mission when you need to get up to go to the toilet and then being required to quietly sit through meetings or presentations can be torturous.

Statistics to have been released into the public domain in recent years go a huge way in demonstrating how underestimated the seriousness is of IBS in the workplace, the demographic of sufferers and the financial burden it can place on the NHS and society in general.

It is estimated that certain complicated IBS tests at hospitals can drain the NHS of £3,000 for each examination, and it’s not always a foregone conclusion that doctors can get to the root of the problems or offer adequate treatment. It would appear than men are getting off lightly, with women accounting for 70% of the 5,000 IBS-related hospital admissions during 2011 in England. In total, women aged between 40 and 44 comprised of these 5,000 visits. Along with back pain, symptoms connected to IBS are among the most common reasons for time off work and it is costing employers and the NHS millions each year.

What can be done though? If you are suffering from IBS, you can make many small changes today that can have major benefits to coping in the workplace and prevent it from interfering with your job. One of the most important things you should immediately try to do at work is speak to your employer. They will probably be sympathetic if you explain your predicament to them and may be even able to provide a workspace slightly away from colleagues if flatulence is an issue, and also make sure you are seated nearby to the toilet facilities.

As mentioned previously, stress is one of the main causes for triggering IBS symptoms, and it should be minimised as much as possible. If workload is organised properly in an efficient manner, you will have a much better chance of meeting deadlines and not feeling overwhelmed. Another issue we touched upon earlier is dreaded long meetings or presentations. Do not feel afraid of speaking to your manager about this issue and then could even slightly alter your job role so that you are not required to attend them.

In regards to limiting your symptoms, try to maintain a regular schedule. Keep your body on an even keel by aiming for regular sleeping and eating patterns. Sticking to timed, small, low-fat meals can avoid unnecessary upset to your stomach. Pinpoint what foods may be causing your symptoms to flare-up or if you are unsure of the culprits, speak to your doctor and they can refer you to a dietician who may be able to identify the problem foods. Other things you can do include restricting tea and coffee to three cups a day as the caffeine may be problematic in some people, restrict your intake of fizzy drinks and aim to drink at least eight cups of water each day.

For the millions of IBS sufferers around the UK, we hope this guidance will provide you with more knowledge on how you can tackle your symptoms in the workplace. Nobody has to suffer in silence and by speaking out to those around you and sharing information, you can go on to enjoy work again and stop IBS from overcoming you.

Careless Brits dying from Malaria

Whilst we would like to think that we are well educated as regards the risks of contracting malaria when travelling, recent statistics show that many Brits are failing to take the necessary precautions. As a result of this there has been a steady increase since 2007 of Brits contracting malaria whilst abroad.

According to the Health Protection Agency (HPA) the cases of British citizens contracting malaria has increased by over 33% from 2010 to 2011, and more worrying still is the amount of deaths caused by malaria which has nearly doubled.

The reasons for this are many and varied, there has been a large increase in the amount of British people travelling to more exotic locations such as India and West Africa. Added to that is the fact that every year around 2000 Brits come back to the UK suffering from malaria due to not taking any malaria medications.

The reason behind these worrying figures seems to be a lack of education regarding malaria and how dangerous, even how fatal it can be. Some British people do not even realise that they are even entering a malaria zone whilst others do realize but don’t consider malaria to pose a serious threat to their health. Then there are those that think that applying insect spray or sleeping under a mosquito net will be sufficient.

Some people are worried about the possible side effects of anti malaria drugs so avoid taking them, others mistakenly believe that because they have had malaria before or because they have lived in a malaria zone years earlier that they are immune. Another reason is people failing to finish the course of malaria treatment, Malarone for example needs to be taken for seven days after returning.

The NHS advises that if travelling abroad to seek your GP’s advice on which medicine is most suited to both yourself, to where you are going and to make sure your children are given the appropriate paediatric dose. The advice is to also take precautions to avoid getting bit in the first place, this can be done by using an insect repellent (containing 50% deet), using a mosquito net when asleep, keeping bare skin covered up and avoiding being outside between dusk and dawn, the time when mosquitoes are most active.

The Health Protection Agency has stressed the point however that none of these preventative measure can guarantee that you will not get bit, and whilst these measures are certainly worth taking it must be remembered that just one bite is enough to contract malaria.

Therefore this stresses the importance of taking anti malaria drugs, which if taken correctly for the full course can protect you from this potentially fatal disease. Malaria is a completely preventable disease for Britains travelling abroad according to the World Health Organisation, it seems however all that is needed to prevent further Britains contracting malaria is better education.

Many older people could have undetected heart conditions

New evidence has emerged in the last few weeks that show the older generation could be missing out on very basic healthcare that could help to prolong their lifespan.

A study that has been published in the journal ‘Heart’ was conducted by researchers at Newcastle University. The researchers underwent various medical tests on 300 elderly people aged between 87 and 89 years of age. After examinations were complete it was discovered that staggeringly, roughly a quarter of these people had a previously undiagnosed heart condition.

The authors behind the study say that if there was medication more accessible to older people, then money would be saved that is currently being spent by the NHS for costly hospital trips. They have further advised routine heart scans for anybody over the age of 85 who is complaining of breathlessness, which could be a sign of heart trouble.

The problem could escalate with the number of elderly people expected to increase. The Department of Health say that although a 40% decrease in cardiovascular disease has been seen in the last 10 years, more could be done. A spokesperson said, “We are currently developing a cardiovascular disease strategy which will consider how we better identify and treat heart diseases for people of all ages, including older people.”

However lead researcher Prof Bernard Keavney says, “We were surprised to discover just how many older people have heart problems. Many of these people could be treated with drugs that we know work, if their condition were recognised. This would improve their quality of life and it’s likely to slow their progression to heart failure.”

This study comes less than two weeks after scientists claim that older people could benefit from statins, with statistics showing that prescribing rates begin to drop for those over the age of 75.
Indeed, like their counterparts at Newcastle, researchers from both Oxford and Birmingham Universities claim that older people are being somewhat overlooked in regards to healthcare, and should be given cholesterol-lowering statins such as Crestor and Lipitor to help cut their risk of cardiovascular disease. The study authors from the two Universities published their findings in the British Medical Journal.

They analysed almost 37,000 subjects who were aged 40 and above, with no cardiovascular disease at the beginning of their study. They found for every extra 5 years of age, the chance of them being prescribed blood pressure medication increased up until age 85, when it then started to decrease. In comparison, statin prescription rates fell from just age 75.

When commenting on these findings, the authors said there is no evidence that statins are harmful for older patients and that the guidelines for the prescribing of the drugs need to be reviewed. They have also stated there should now be a ‘simple trial of use of statins in people over the age of 80’. Backing up those comments was the British Heart Foundation’s senior cardiac nurse June Davison, who says, “Available evidence would suggest that older people can benefit from heart protective drugs, but more research is needed.”

A London NHS trust is fined by the ICO after careless data management

An investigation into data handling by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), has concluded with St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust in London being slapped with a vast financial penalty of £60,000. The fine is the fourth one given by the ICO in the last two months to various NHS institutions, with the message being that the ICO have no hesitation in hitting people hard in the pocket if they do not adhere to data protection legislation. The news emerges only two weeks after we reported that one of London’s biggest NHS trusts, Imperial College Healthcare, are facing an enquiry into the deaths of 25 patients due to bad data management.

According to the ICO, the St George’s NHS Trust were punished after twice sending sensitive personal medical records by post to an address that the patient had not occupied for half a decade. The mistake is perhaps inexplicable when taken into consideration that the particular patient had given the Trust their latest address preceding the medical appointment, and the correct address had even been logged on the NHS spine. This means staff had failed to check that details on their local patient database corresponded with those on the spine. The sensitive information included details of the patient’s physical examination and subsequent results, medical history and a health professional’s advice on the issue.

Questions will surely now be raised on the efficacy of the NHS spine, and staff faith in the system. The current deputy government CIO, Liam Maxwell, has previously criticised the spine and suggested the health service would benefit more from using health systems from either Google or Microsoft. The spine system incorporates three aspects to its design; The Personal Demographics Service (PDS), The Summary Care Record (SCR) and The Secondary Uses Service (SUS). The PDS stores patient demographic data and NHS Numbers. There is no opt-out facility for this but patients can choose to have their PDS as ‘sensitive’ to prevent their contact details being viewed by 831,000 staff. The SCR summarises clinical information, such as allergies and adverse reactions to medicine that a patient may have. Finally, the SUS intelligently uses patient data from their records to create anonymised and pseudonymised business reports and statistics for research, planning and public health delivery.

When explaining the justification of the hefty £60,000 fine, ICO head of enforcement Stephen Eckersley commented, “It’s hard to imagine a more distressing situation for a vulnerable person than the thought of their sensitive health information being sent to someone who had no reason to see it. This breach was clearly preventable and is the result of the Trust’s failure to make sure the contact details they have for their patients are accurate and up to date.”

Medical Specialists Pharmacy fully understands the fines being issued by the ICO. Respecting the Data Protection Act has always been at the core of our business practice and we demonstrate this in a number of ways such as:

. Private and confidential online consultations, these are discrete between the patient and doctor.
. Information is processed online over a secure and encrypted connection.
. All processing/dispensing is conducted done in-house.
. Patient details are seen by absolutely no third parties or doctors other than our own.
. We do not send spam, junk, or unnecessary correspondence via either post or email.
. Medications are dispatched (free of charge) through Royal Mail Special Delivery, meaning everything must be signed and accounted for, and will not simply be shoved through your letter box for anybody to get hold of.

Many gastric surgery patients pile the weight back on in the future

Weight loss surgery, also called bariatric surgery, first came to public recognition around a decade ago after it was offered as a last-ditch weight loss method by government watchdog NICE, for individuals who are dangerously obese. This includes those with a body mass index (BMI) of more than 40 or those with a BMI of more than 35 and who also have a serious health condition which could be helped by weight loss such as diabetes or high blood pressure.

The most common forms of weight loss surgery remain either a gastric band or a gastric bypass. The former is where a band is inserted into the stomach to reduce its size. The aim is that it will take a smaller amount of food to make you feel ‘full’. With a gastric bypass, the digestive system is diverted past most of your stomach. This then results in the digestion of less food and it takes much less food to make you feel full. By bypassing part of the small intestine, this means a reduction in how much food and nutrients are absorbed, leading to weight loss.

There is currently a massive demand on the NHS for weight loss surgery operations, so much so that there is more demand up and down the country than available supply, resulting in a long waiting list. Although roughly 8,000 weight loss procedures occurred last year in England on the NHS, this is probably a small portion of the obese population. In the UK an estimated 60.8% of adults and 31.1% of children are at least classified as ‘overweight’.

If somebody wanted to go private and not join the ever-growing NHS waiting list, it would set them back between £5,000 – £8,000 for a gastric band and it is even more expensive for gastric bypass surgery, usually costing between £9,500 – £15,000. However, the big question everybody is now asking – is it all worth it?

Information from various studies from across the globe, expert opinions, and those who have had the procedures themselves paint a damning view of the actual benefits of weight loss surgery. If the cost alone is not off-putting, other factors could be. A Brazilian study that analysed 782 patients who had undergone weight loss surgery, found that 63% actually gained weight within two years. In addition, a German review into a collection of studies on weight loss surgery discovered that 30% of patients piled on their previously lost weight within merely 18 to 36 months.

The weight gain has led to a high volume of people even requesting a second operation. One Dutch study of patients who’d had a gastric band fitted, found that approximately a third required another operation within 5 years and half needed one within 10 years. A famous figure to have had repeated weight loss surgery is Kerry Katona, who first caused controversy by undergoing £15,000 liposuction surgery in August 2008, just four months after giving birth.

Althought Katona initially dropped from 12 stone to 8; by June 2009 she had piled on 2 stone of what she had lost. Then in January 2011 she paid £650 for mesosculpt treatment to get rid of the stretchmarks on her stomach. Just nine months later she had piled on another stone and in April of this year she forked out a further £8,500 for more liposuction.

What people aren’t prepared for it seems is the after-life of having weight loss surgery. Many patients will struggle to adjust to the fact their stomach will not cope with the same sized portions as previously, or the fact they will have to try and adhere to a strict diet plan. Bianca Scollen, of the support group Weight Loss Surgery Info, says “In the first year, or two years, after the surgery, you feel like you’re walking on air. But three or four years on is a very different thing. In a way, losing the weight is the easy part; it’s changing your lifestyle and keeping it off that’s hard. Some people find the sight of their new, slimmer shape is enough to keep them motivated, but for others it’s not so easy.”

Professor Jane Ogden, of health psychology at the University of Surrey, further comments, “Hunger isn’t just a biological process — it can be about feeling fed up and wanting comfort, or feeling bored. Unless patients have changed their attitude towards food, they end up cheating — grazing, or drinking lots of water so their stomach can manage more food.”

The most worrying aspect of bariatric surgery though is that there still seems to be many health risks involved, when the main point of the surgery is to benefit the patient’s long term health. Many private companies offering weight loss procedures do not provide adequate aftercare, important in avoiding weight regain. Moreover, this leads to risk of a multitude of complications such as vomiting, infection, gastric bands slipping or leaking and intestinal blockages. According to statistics from the Medical Defence Union, there has been a doubling of negligence claims against independent bariatric surgeons between 2008 and 2010. With evidence of weight gain post-surgery, and serious health complications involved, it could be time for people to rethink their weight loss strategy!