Slim county is in good shape

6:00am Friday 29th August 2008

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Waistlines in Oxfordshire are among the smallest in the UK, according to a new report.

A 'fat map' of England, Scotland and Wales shows the county is in the top 15 per cent of Primary Care Trusts containing the least obese people.

Last night, the woman in charge of combating obesity in the county welcomed the news, but promised Oxfordshire PCT would continue the fight to improve lifestyles.

Kate King, obesity leader for the PCT's health improvement team, said: "It is good news, but even in Oxfordshire we recognise levels of obesity are predicted to rise.

"We are not going to be complacent - we want to make sure we are doing the work we need to support people to live healthy lives."

The new report was compiled by Dr Foster Research, using data from GP surgeries across the UK.

It revealed that in Oxfordshire, 6.3 per cent of over 16s registered with GPs were obese - meaning the county has the 22nd best performing PCT out of 189 surveyed.

Shetland in Scotland was the worst - with a figure of 15.5 per cent.

Camden in London was the best performing, with just 3.9 per cent of people registered with GPs falling into the clinically obese category.

Ms King said: "We do know Oxfordshire is generally a more prosperous county and we do have lower rates of obesity compared with other places mentioned in the report.

"People here have higher levels of activity than some living in other parts of the country."

Ms King and her colleagues have launched a series of measures to tackle obesity in the county, typically by encouraging people to eat more healthily and take more exercise.

One school - Gosford Hill School in Kidlington - has begun using Nintendo Wii game consoles to get its obese pupils fit.

But a small handful of people are taking more drastic measures to lose weight.

Figures released by Oxfordshire PCT last night revealed 11 people had been referred as candidates for bariatric surgery such as stomach stapling in the year 2007/08.

Cowley mother-of-three Zena Hurn, 49, lost 18 stone after undergoing gastric bypass surgery two years ago. She said: "I don't think I would still be here if I hadn't had it done."

She said there was a public misconception about fat people only being overweight because they ate too much, when underlying health problems could be the cause.

Ms Hurn, who weighed more than 30 stone before surgery, said: "I tried diets and exercise, but it just didn't work for me.

"Because people don't understand it they ignore the issue, or criticise."