The Daily Mail newspaper announced yesterday that :
England is in the grip of an epidemic of pensioner obesity.
Figures, published by the National Health Service Information Centre show that :
* the number of old people admitted to hospital because they are 'dangerously fat' has soared almost ten-fold in five years.
* 1,102 people aged between 60 and 74 ended up in a hospital bed in 2009/10 as a direct result of their weight, up from 118 in 2004/05 – a rise of 834%.
* the figures are likely to be the 'tip of the iceberg' because they only include those admitted with a primary diagnosis of 'obesity' and thousands more 'grossly overweight' people will have entered hospital with heart disease, strokes, diabetes and some cancers brought on by their size.
