Public patients denied obesity treatment

MELBOURNE, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- An Australian expert says government hospital patients in his country are often denied access to one of the most effective forms of weight loss treatment.

Writing in the latest Medical Journal of Australia, Paul O'Brien with the Center for Obesity Research and Education, says Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding is the most effective treatment for obesity. The treatment helps improve the quality of life for patients, including the reduction or eradication of hypertension, diabetes and asthma.

However, obese patients in public hospitals are being discriminated against because of their economic status, with uninsured patients having poor access to the treatment, he says.

"Our public hospitals are failing to offer appropriate care for the severely obese in the community," he writes.

More than 20 percent of Australian adults or about 2.6 million and 7 percent of teenagers are considered obese. Obesity is more prevalent among low socio-economic groups and Aboriginal people.