Over £1m A Day For NI Obesity

More than a million pounds a day are spent on treating obesity and weight-related diseases in Northern Ireland, according to a new report.

Consumer advice group Safefood funded the research.

It found that the estimated annual cost of dealing with weight issues in Northern Ireland is £370m a year.

The report found about 25% of the total, or £92m, came from direct health care costs such as hospital, GP and drug treatment.

But indirect costs like absenteeism and lost productivity at work are estimated to account for the remaining 75%, or £277m.

Safefood promotes health and food safety across the island of Ireland through providing information on healthy eating.

This latest research was led by a team from University College Cork (UCC) but academics from five other institutions, including Queens University in Belfast, were also on board.

The research came about through the study of 18 weight-related medical conditions which include cardiac disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, stroke and lower back pain.

Cardiac disease was found to be the most expensive to treat and accounts for 44% of direct healthcare costs associated with weight problems.

Back pain was found to be the biggest cause of workplace absenteeism.

Safefood's chief executive, Martin Higgins, said: "While it is acknowledged that these are conservative figures and don't reflect the human and social costs, they show a compelling case for obesity prevention, based on changes in our food environment and physical activity levels."

(IT/GK)