Knees crumble under weight of obesity crisis: Joint replacements for fat people soar by 150% in four years, including operations for five overweight CHILDREN

  • EXCLUSIVE: Almost 9,500 people classed as obese given knee replacements
  • Number has soared by 150% since 2009-10 as joints give way under weight
  • Total of 28,000 operations for obese patients in the last four years
  • Includes one boy aged 10-14, and two boys and two girls aged 15-19
  • Three-fold increase in knee replacements among obese under-40s
  • Artificial joints last 15-20 years, meaning many will need repeated operations
  • Annual £50million bill to the NHS set to rise as health crisis deepens 
  • Campaigners warn the human body is not built to take the strain

By Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor

Published: 02:26 EST, 29 July 2014 | Updated: 04:09 EST, 29 July 2014

The nation's knees are crumbling under the strain of the obesity crisis, MailOnline can reveal.

Almost 9,500 people, including two teenagers, underwent knee replacement surgery last year because their joints could not cope with their weight, at a cost of more than £50million.

The numbers have surged by 150 per cent in just four years, and raise fresh concerns about the extraordinary cost to the NHS of dealing with expanding waistlines.

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Almost 9,500 people had knee replacement surgery last year because their joints could not cope with their weight, at a cost of more than £50million to the NHS

Almost 9,500 people had knee replacement surgery last year because their joints could not cope with their weight, at a cost of more than £50million to the NHS

Shocking new figures lays bare the impact on the NHS of the unexpected implications of children and adults becoming so fat their body cannot carry them any more.

Obesity costs the NHS £5.1 billion each year with 40,000 people dying as a result of being overweight or obese.

Now it can be revealed that one in 10 patients given new knees is obese, up from one in 20 just four years ago.

In 2009-10, there were 3,787 operations carried out in England and Wales where obesity was listed as a main or secondary diagnosis.

But by 2012-13, the number had leapt to 9,438, figures compiled for MailOnline by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) reveal.

Over the last four years there have been a total of 28,000 cases where obesity was regarded as a major trigger for knee replacements.

It includes one boy aged between 10 and 14 who went under the knife in 2010-11. 

This is just the opening salvo of something that is going to get worse over the coming decades
Tory MP Sarah Wollaston 

Also in the last four years, knee replacements have been carried out on two boys and two girls aged 15-19. 

Tory MP Sarah Wollaston, chairman of the health select committee, said: ‘Obesity isn’t a disability, it causes disability. Because of the rise in obesity we are going to see a rise in avoidable disability.

‘The thing we should be worrying about is we are not tackling it at an early enough stage. 

‘We should be focussing our effort on stopping people getting there in the first place.

'This is just the opening salvo of something that is going to get worse over the coming decades.’

Data compiled for MailOnline shows how the number of knee operations for obese patients has soared from 3,787 in 2009-10 to 9,438 in 2012-13

Data compiled for MailOnline shows how the number of knee operations for obese patients has soared from 3,787 in 2009-10 to 9,438 in 2012-13

The bulk of knee operations are carried out on people aged 60+, but in the last four years there has been a three-fold increase in knee replacements among obese under-40s

The bulk of knee operations are carried out on people aged 60+, but in the last four years there has been a three-fold increase in knee replacements among obese under-40s

Tory MP Sarah Wollaston, chairman of the health select committee, warned the problem would only get worse unless urgent action was taken to prevent obesity causing increased disabilities

Tory MP Sarah Wollaston, chairman of the health select committee, warned the problem would only get worse unless urgent action was taken to prevent obesity causing increased disabilities

A knee replacement costs around £5,500, meaning the bill for last year alone could have topped £52million.

The NHS says a replacement knee will last for around 15 to 20 years if it is 'not put under too much strain', raising the prospect of the same people undergoing repeated surgery throughout their lives.

Official guidance suggests that most knee operations are offered for arthritis, with the over-65s most likely need treatment.

However, a quarter of those classed as obese who had knee operations were under 60.

There has been a three-fold increase in knee replacements among the under-40s.

We are now putting our bones under huge extra burdens which the human body was never designed for
Tam Fry, National Obesity Forum 

In the last year alone nine people in their twenties and 70 thirty-somethings have had knee operations after becoming obese.

Women are almost twice as likely as men to need treatment. Of the 9,438 operations last year, almost 6,000 were for female patients.

Tam Fry, from the National Obesity Forum, said: ‘These figures will continue to rise. The human body has evolved for perfection and the knees and the legs and arms and all the bones fit together beautifully.

‘What we have done over the last 50 years to an incredible degree is upset the balance of evolution.

'We are now putting our bones under huge extra burdens which the human body was never designed for.

‘What’s disastrous is people don’t know of the medical problems which are attached to obesity.’

A knee replacement is classed as ‘major surgery’ by the NHS and is only offered after other treatments, such as physiotherapy or steroid injections have failed to help. 

 

Last year one in 10 patients given new knees was obese, up from one in 20 just four years ago

Last year one in 10 patients given new knees was obese, up from one in 20 just four years ago

The Department of Health warned obesity affects all age groups and ‘there is no magic bullet to solve the problem’.

A spokesman said: ‘It is going to take continued effort from all of us; Government, local communities, industry and individuals to reverse this trend. 

‘Our primary responsibility is to help the nation to be healthier. This is why we are working with industry, through the Responsibility Deal, to reduce calories in food and drinks to ensure that healthier options are available.

There is no magic bullet to solve the problem
Department of Health 

‘We also have a voluntary front of pack labelling scheme which will help people keep track of what they're eating and give them the information to make healthier choices.

‘Everyone over the age of 40 can have a free NHS health check to spot the warning signs of long-term illness- more people are taking them up than ever before. 

'And for the first time we have given local authorities the power and over £5 billion in funding to tackle public health issues in their areas.’

This month it was announced free weight-loss surgery could be offered to nearly a million diabetes patients.

The health watchdog NICE called for more obese people with the condition to be considered for a gastric band or bypass.

At a stroke, the ruling doubled to 1.8million the numbers qualifying for taxpayer-funded surgery.

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