Two-thirds of UK men are overweight

The warning comes from leading healthcare information company Dr Foster which regularly gathers information from 250 practitioners in statistically significant parts of the country.

Around 80% have seen an increase in the number of obesity cases they are dealing with, the latest findings show.

The same report suggests that over half the country's patients are without access to treatment that is vital for reducing their weight, following a poll of every primary care trust in England and Wales.

Postcode lottery

The questionaire, which had a 70% response rate, revealed 54% of trusts did not provide organised weight management clinics.

This means GPs in those areas cannot refer patients for life-saving obesity surgery as NHS guidelines state they must attend a specialised clinic before being considered for such operations.

Obesity surgery is not available at all in 25% of trusts in Wales and 14% in England.

The International Obesity Forum's Ian Campbell told BBC One's Real Story programme that this postcode lottery was putting lives at risk.

He said as a GP he felt the NHS had failed me and he was very sorry about that but he couldn't do anything else Sam Evans, obesity patient

"There are areas in the country where there is next to no service provision for overweight people so they're not able to access the treatment they so desperately need.

"Surgery is really for people who are going to die through their obesity so it is crucial they get treatment."

The strain on the health service is such that many are now turning to the private sector.

Real Story spoke to patients who have paid thousands of pounds for treatment they claim has saved their lives, some going to hospitals abroad.

Loan

Sam Evans, 28, lost six and a half stone in nine months through gastric banding surgery - a stomach operation which can restrict the amount someone can eat to mere mouthfuls.

She took out a loan to cover the cost of the �4,000 operation in a French hospital.

Her GP felt strongly that, at 34 stone, she qualified for surgery on the NHS but her local health authority in Avon disagreed.

"He said as a GP he felt the NHS had failed me and he was very sorry about that but he couldn't do anything else."