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Provide figures for the levels of obesity related illnesses and those who have diabetes due to poor dietary choices and other illnesses

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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES BY DEPUTY S. PITMAN OF ST. HELIER

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 7th JUNE 2011

Question

Would the Minister provide figures, on a year by year basis, for the levels of –

  1. obesity related illnesses treated by her Department over the past 20 years;
  2. those who have developed diabetes as a consequence of poor dietary choices over the past 20 years;
  3. other illnesses related to poor diets (listing them in order of frequency) treated by her Department over the past twenty years?

Answer

(a/b) At present, it is not possible to accurately identify how much obesity related illness has

been treated locally over the past twenty years. This is partly because this condition is a relatively new phenomenon and the numbers of obese people presenting is likely to have been small in comparison to today. In addition, we know of no national methodology for linking obesity to treated illness within patient records. Anecdotally, clinicians are in no doubt  that  obesity  is  contributing  significantly  to  the  number  of  patients  they  treat, particularly with conditions such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. This is reflected in the work done by the World Health Organisation on the global burden of disease (see Table 1 below).

Increasingly  sedentary  lifestyles  plus  diets  that  are  high  in  salt,  fat  and  sugar  are contributory  factors  to  obesity.  Research  studies  have  estimated  the  increased  risk  of developing a disease as a result of becoming obese. For example, the table below shows that the majority of type 2 diabetes in a population is due to obesity.

Table 1. Conditions Related to Obesity

 

 

Population Attributable Risk Factor (% of obese people)

Type 2 diabetes

83%

Coronary Heart Disease

33%

Ischemic Stroke (cerebrovascular disease)

35%

Hypertensive Disease

59%

Gall bladder disease

12%

Colon/Rectal Cancer

17%

Source: World Health Organisation (2008) Global Burden of Disease Report

(c)  For reasons outlined in answer to part (a/b) of this question, it is not possible to give accurate figures for conditions treated as a result of a poor diet. The table above gives an indication of best estimates at present.