Obesity drug prescriptions soar in Britain

Doctors in England are writing over a million obesity drug prescriptions a year, eight times more than in 1999, health data showed on Thursday.

The National Health Service said 1.06 million prescriptions of the two main obesity drugs orlistat and sibutramine were issued in 2006, at a cost of 47.5 million pounds.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson says the country is in the grip of an obesity crisis, and last week launched a national strategy to increase exercise and reduce unhealthy eating.

The NHS data showed that men’s waistlines have expanded to an average of 96.8 cm (38.1 inches) from 93.2 cm (36.7 inches) in 1993, while the proportion of men classed as obese rose to 23.7 percent from 13.2 percent over the same period.

Women’s waists have widened from an average 81.7 cm (32.2 inches) in 1993 to 86.4 cm (34.0 inches), with levels of obesity rising to 24.2 percent from 16.4 percent.

The NHS defines someone as obese who has a score of 30 or more on the Body Mass Index, obtained by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by the square of their height in metres.

Around 73 percent of the obesity drug prescriptions were for fat blocker orlistat, sold by Switzerland’s Roche Holding AG under the name Xenical.

Appetite suppressant sibutramine, marketed by U.S. drug firm Abbott Laboratories under the brand names Meridia or Reductil, made up 25 percent of the prescriptions.