Research by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm shows that obesity is even more serious than previously thought:  Patients with a body mass index of over 30, classed as clinically obese, are at an 82% increased risk of heart disease. This research comes in the same month as another report stated that a large waist circumference *made patients four times more likely to suffer from weight related cardiovascular problems.

As the rise in obesity figures continues, more patients are opting for weight loss surgery to prevent health complications from obesity


*combined with the Body Mass Index, or BMI, the circumference of a persons waist is one of the litmus tests for defining obesity  - a strategy that has caused controversy as many athletes by definition would be classed as obese.