Obesity surgery may be on the rise here but in Japan tiny schoolgirls see themselves as overweight. Photo: Getty
It's increasingly looking like all the advice spouted by experts over the years on how to eat healthily and exercise regularly hasn't worked, at least for people who are having a mighty struggle with their weight.
According to a report from the NHS-based Health and Social Care Information Centre, more and more obese Brits are choosing to go under the knife in an attempt to lose weight, with the number of gastric bypass and gastric band operations having gone through the roof.
The most recent figures are for 2008/2009, and they show that stomach shrinking surgery figures shot up by 70 of gastric bypass/band operations performed on men.
The statistics will inevitably lead many to question whether or not people with serious weight problems are just taking the easy way out, rather than losing weight with diet and exercise.
And there's more news. The overall number of hospital admissions related to obesity has also gone up by 30 of teenage girls see themselves as overweight. Yet the average BMI for Japanese girls is just 20 (anything between 18.5 and 24.9 is normal).
What's your view on the obesity problem in this country? How would you solve it?