More Australians turning to surgery to combat obesity, study reveals

An increasing number of overweight and obese Australian adults are turning to surgery to lose weight, a new study has revealed.

A total of 22,700 people across the nation were admitted into hospitals for weight loss surgery between 2014- 2015, according to the report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

The result was up 9,300 patients from totals recorded a decade earlier.

“In the ten years to 2014–15, hospital admissions for weight loss surgery increased more than three-fold in public hospitals and over two-fold in private hospitals,’” AIHW spokesperson Jenny Hargreaves said in an official statement today.

Ms Hargreaves also revealed that most weight loss surgery patients were female.

“Around 79 percent of weight loss surgery admissions were for women, and the highest number of admissions were among women aged between 35 and 44,” she said.

The majority of weight loss surgery involved an initial or primary procedure, while adjustments, revisions, removals and other procedures represented 21 percent.

Western Australia had the highest rate of weight loss surgery, with over 17 admissions per 10,000 people, compared with the national average of 10, Ms Hargreaves added.

There were 124,600 weight loss procedures billed to Medicare for weight loss surgery-related procedures in public, private and non-hospital settings.

Almost $26 million in benefits were paid through Medicare, and about $37 million of total out-of-pocket costs.