Aishni (Year 12)
Editor’s note: This excellent short essay was submitted to the Immerse Essay Competition, securing Aishni a Highly Commended award. The competition is extremely competitive, receiving thousands of entries annually. The competition develops advanced academic writing and research skills, and allows entrants to build a stronger academic portfolio ahead of university applications. The word limit was just 500 words, representing a significant challenge given the title! CPD
Prevention is crucial to the future of healthcare. Prioritising it would revolutionise health outcomes for everyone. This essay will focus on the purpose of prevention in positively impacting patients’ health as well as financially relieving the NHS, but not on the mechanism of public policy that is needed from the government to enact this change. This is particularly evident for obesity, as one of the largest preventable factors for health conditions (Dun-Campbell et al.,2024), it highlights the capacity for change in this area and the immense potential to save lives. It is important to acknowledge a wide variety of other factors that are part of a holistic preventative approach to medicine, not just reducing obesity, these include alcohol and smoking prevention and vaccination.
Obesity affects millions of people, and the number is increasing every year. For the 27% of men and 29% of women who are obese (Lifestyles Team, NHS Digital, 2024), serious health conditions can be caused or exacerbated by this, including diabetes type 2, cardiovascular diseases, pregnancy, and fertility issues, and is linked to 1 in 20 cancers (House of Lords, 2017) and many other diseases. The impacts of these health condition are enormous for patients. Treatment does not prevent hospitalisation, poorer quality of life, surgery, medication side effects, years of life lost and the 25% of obese people with mental health issues (Curcurú et al. 2021). Without solving this the NHS’s capacity to treat the growing number of patients will worsen, leading to further decline in health for everyone.
Obesity also has hugely significant financial implications. Annually obesity cost the NHS £10.8 billion pounds in 2020 (Bradshaw et al., 2023), a sizeable proportion of the estimated 40% of the NHS budget that is spent on treating disease with preventable factors (House of Lords, 2017), this is more than the government spends annually on the police and fire department combined. Preventing obesity through current government schemes is not enough, a greater emphasis on education, increasing sugar taxes and making fresh produce more affordable is key to reducing the problem. By decreasing obesity, the economy could save the current £27 billion it loses annually (House of Lords, 2017) “due its effect on productivity, earnings and welfare payments” (House of Lords, 2017). Additionally, by reducing NHS costs, more of these desperately needed funds could go towards patients with unpreventable diseases.
Preventable diseases are one the primary costs of the NHS budget, diverting money and resources away from other critical areas of treatment, increasing waiting times and costs. Making it a priority, promotes healthier lifestyles providing millions with a better quality of life, boosts productivity which aids the economy and saves many patients the physical and emotional ordeal that comes with dealing with health complications which could have been avoided all together. This makes prevention the undeniable long-term solution to revolutionise healthcare.
Bibliography
Bradshaw, A., Dace, H., (2023). Unhealthy Numbers: The Rising Cost of Obesity in the UK. Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. Unhealthy Numbers: The Rising Cost of Obesity in the UK
Curcurú, F., & Meisl, F., (2021). The next epidemic? People living with obesity nearly twice as likely to have bad mental health. Ipsos. The next epidemic? People living with obesity nearly twice as likely to have bad mental health | Ipsos
Dun-Campbell, K., Ewbank, L., Burale, H., & Briggs, A., (2024). Addressing the leading risk factors for ill health – supporting local government to do more. The Health Foundation. https://doi.org/10.37829/HF-2023-HL03
House of Lords, (2017). The Long-term Sustainability of the NHS and Adult Social Care. http://www.parliament.uk. House of Lords – The Long-term Sustainability of the NHS and Adult Social Care – Select Committee on the Long-term Sustainability of the NHS
Lifestyles Team, NHS Digital (2024). Health Survey for England 2019 [NS]. NHS England. Author, Copyright and Licensing – NHS England Digital
The GSAL Journal 