The Guardian recently wrote that the UK’s obesity problem is so widespread that the country’s ambulance fleets are having to buy specialist equipment to cope. The cost is around £15,000 ($25,000) to refit existing ambulances and no less than £90,000 for new “bariatric” ambulances for morbidly obese people.
Sure, updating infrastructure to reflect demand is necessary. But wouldn’t some of these funds be better spent on prevention and fitness schemes? At a time when government budgets are being slashed and the public are having to adapt to “austerity” measures, it strikes me as absurd that the issue of obesity isn’t being tackled head-on. Tough measures are being brought in across the board where costs are too high, so why can’t the same be done for the obese?
Considering the widespread redundancies NHS staff are facing and the banning of certain operations as part of the plan to save up to £20 billion over the next 5 years, simply throwing money at a problem like obesity is crazy. With nearly two thirds of British adults and one third of children overweight or obese, the UK is Europe’s fattest nation. If continued unchecked, obesity in the UK will cost the state £32 billion per year.
Here’s an idea: how about spending half of these funds allocated for a single “bariatric” ambulance, £45,000, on setting up local fitness schemes for obese people? If the average personal trainer costs £40 per hour, then 1 hour a week over 40 weeks would cost £1,600 per person. Throw in 2 hours a week participating in a mandatory community fitness class and you’re on track to significantly improve the health and fitness of almost 30 obese people . In small local areas, wouldn’t that figure alone reduce the need to make these expensive, unnecessary ambulance upgrades?
In fact there are likely to be many personal trainers who, if contracted by the local council, would happily train 40-45 obese people a week for that kind of fixed income. Definitely more the kind of investment I’d happily see my taxes being used for.