How much does the NHS spend on obesity?
As one of the UK's biggest health challenges, obesity comes at a great cost to the NHS and others. Learn the true cost of obesity in the UK.
Obesity is often described as one of the biggest health challenges facing the UK today. The obesity rate has almost doubled since 1993, when it stood at 14.9%. It affects millions and places a huge financial strain on the healthcare system.
With that in mind, how much does the NHS spend on obesity each year? And what is the wider cost to society? Let's find out.
How much money does the NHS spend on treating obesity?
It's estimated that the NHS will spend £9.3 billion on treating obesity-related illnesses in 2025, according to a joint study by Nesta and Frontier Economics. Those health problems include type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and certain types of cancers.
If you add the cost of health problems from being overweight, this figure jumps to an estimated £12.6 billion.
The true cost of obesity
When someone develops health issues linked to obesity, it's not just a question of how much obesity costs the healthcare system. Those costs ripple outwards to other service providers and other corners of society.
Social care costs
People living with obesity are more likely to require some sort of formal social care, whether that's:
- Carers coming to their house to help them with daily tasks
- Emotional and mental health support
- Adaptations to their homes, such as stair lifts or accessible bathing
- Medication management
Nesta's report estimated that formal social care for people living with obesity could cost local authorities £1 billion in 2025.
But that's not the only type of social care that puts a financial strain on society. When family members and friends step in to provide support ('informal social care'), that comes at a cost, too.
After all, those informal carers are spending time caring for loved ones for free. That's a very nice thing to do, but it means they're using up time when they could have been earning money or spending on leisure.
The report estimates that these informal social care arrangements could cost society £9.3 billion in 2025.
Lost productivity at work
Obesity and the health problems it can come with can affect people in their place of work. This can have a knock-on effect on the economy to the tune of an estimated
£23.8 billion in 2025. Here's how.
Unemployment
People living with obesity are less likely to be employed than those at a healthy weight. One study of more than 17,000 working-age adults in England found that, compared to healthy-weight individuals, employment was:
- 21% lower in females living with obesity
- 8.4% lower in males living with obesity
However, it's important to note that factors that aren't always observable to the researcher, such as socioeconomic background, may influence these statistics.
Time off work (presenteeism)
This includes sick days and days off work to attend health appointments, for example.
Workers living with class III obesity (a BMI of 40+) account for more than 40% of presenteeism costs (£3.9 billion out of £9.7 billion). However, they only represent 13% of the workforce with obesity.
Reduced productivity at work
Living with obesity can also influence factors like the quality and quantity of a person's work. For instance, if a person with obesity develops sleep apnoea, it may cause tiredness. In turn, this can make it difficult to concentrate during the working day.
So, as you can see, the cost of obesity goes further than NHS spending. It can affect people's careers and well-being, too.
SemaPen is a weight loss clinic founded by UK obesity experts. As part of Phoenix Health, we've helped people lose weight for more than 20 years.
Sources
1. House of Commons Library (2025) Research briefing: Obesity statistics. Retrieved from https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn03336/
2. Nesta (2025) The economic and productivity costs of obesity and overweight in the UK. Retrieved from
https://media.nesta.org.uk/documents/The_economic_and_productivity_costs_of_obesity_and_overweight_in_the_UK_.pdf
This article was reviewed and approved by Lujain Alhassan, Bariatric Nutritionist, on 31 October 2025.
