Stomach stapling, gastric bypasses and other surgical operations to force morbidly obese people to lose weight increased by 40 per cent last year, according to official figures.

The NHS in England performed 2,724 weight-loss operations in the year to April 2008 — compared with fewer than 2,000 in the previous year — while hospital admissions for obesity-related problems were up 30 per cent to 5,018.

Data from the NHS Information Centre published yesterday reveals that in 2007 almost a quarter of adults were obese, with their need for treatment placing a growing burden on the NHS. Only 34 per cent of men and 42 per cent of women had a body mass index, calculated as a weight to height ratio, within the normal range.

The figures come a day after research showed rising obesity in Britain was fuelling an increase in cases of Type II diabetes. The rate is now increasing faster than in the US — one of the worst countries in the world for diabetes prevalence.

While obesity-related operations, including sleeve gastrectomies where the stomach is surgically reduced to a narrow tube, increased dramatically, there was a smaller rise in drug prescriptions for weight loss. The number of prescriptions dispensed to treat obesity increased by 16 per cent to 1.2 million.

Politicians, doctors and health campaigners described the figures as an alarming sign of how obesity was dominating many people’s lives.

The report also found that only 27 per cent of men, 31 per cent of women and 21 per cent of children were eating their recommended five portions of fruit a day. But physical activity has increased since 1997, with 40 per cent of men and 28 per cent of women being active for at least 30 minutes five times a week, up from 32 per cent and 21 per cent.

Tam Fry, chairman of the Child Growth Foundation and a member of the National Obesity Forum, described the surgery data “jaw-dropping”. “A 40 per cent rise indicates what an awful position we are in in terms of tackling obesity,” he said. “What used to be seen as a last resort in terms of bringing people back to a healthy weight now seems to be a treatment of choice.”

Figures also showed that men, women and children have become heavier, with the percentage of obese boys up from 11 per cent in 1995 to 17 per cent, and the percentage of obese girls up from 12 per cent to 16 per cent.

Tim Straughan, chief executive of the NHS Information Centre, said: “Obesity can pose major health risks by potentially increasing the likelihood of such diseases as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, strokes and a range of other, often life-threatening, conditions.” Separate research published yesterday also showed that being obese increases the risk of early death just as much as smoking. A study found that being an obese non-smoker was the equivalent of somebody of a healthy weight smoking more than 10 cigarettes a day.

Ruairi O’Connor, head of policy at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said the statistics showed the growing burden of obesity on the NHS.

“A full government response is needed if we are to tackle the obesity timebomb,” she said, adding that greater regulation of junk food marketing and labelling was a must. “Obesity is one of the major risk factors for heart disease — the UK’s biggest killer.

“Given our historically low rates of healthy eating and physical activity, the Government, food industry, schools, parents and charities like the BHF must maintain efforts to make healthy choices the easier choice.”

Cancer Research UK said that around 13,000 cancer cases annually were linked to being overweight.

Dawn Primarolo, the Public Health Minister, said obesity was the biggest health challenge that we faced. She said tough action was being taken, including £372 million of funding.

NHS guidance recommended that drugs and surgery should always be a last resort. “A better diet and more exercise should be tried first,” she said.

Saranjit Sihota, of Diabetes UK, said that a worrying number of diabetics were turning to weight loss surgery to help manage their condition rather than relying on diet and exercise.

Andrew Lansley, the Conservative Health Spokesman, said: “These statistics show that obesity-related treatments are already putting huge pressure on an already over-stretched NHS and on current trends this is set to get progressively worse.”

Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat Health Spokesman, said that the figures were yet more frightening evidence of the nation's health.

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