NEARLY three times the number of women than men needed hospital treatment because of their waistline, figures for York and North Yorkshire show.

Over the last year, 142 women were admitted to hospital due to their weight and 55 men in York and North Yorkshire, figures slightly above the national average.

The difference in hospital admissions nationally between men and women is thought to be down to differing attitudes to health.

The figures can partly be accounted for by weight-loss surgery as during that period 83 women and 28 men underwent barriatric surgery.

A spokesperson for York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: “The impact of obesity can cause people to be admitted to hospital for treatment for a number of medical reasons other than bariatric surgery – vascular problems, cancer and heart disease to name a few.

"It is strongly linked to type 2 diabetes which in itself can cause many health problems if left untreated such as stroke, kidney disease and foot problems.”

A total of 1,444 women and 938 men were admitted due to a primary or secondary diagnosis of obesity in York and North Yorkshire.

Nationally, hospitals have recorded over twice as many obesity admissions for women than men, figures from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) Bariatric surgery procedure were over three times as common in women.

Alan Perkins, CEO of the HSCIC, said: “Obesity has been a public health issue for many years and can increase the risk of disease and long-term illness. Despite a recorded fall in admissions, hospitals still admitted over 10,000 cases with a primary diagnosis of obesity last year.

“The past ten years of data show hospitals have dealt with considerably more women for obesity than men and it will be interesting to see if this pattern changes in coming years.”

In the East Riding of Yorkshire, figures were considerably lower in 2012/13, with13 women admitted to hospital with a primary diagnosis of obesity and ten men.

About one-in-four adults in the UK is classed as obese.

Nationally there was a seven per cent decrease in admissions on the previous financial year.

They went from 11,740 in 2011-12 to 10,960 in 2012-13.