Savings will be made if taxpayers fund weight loss surgery for Queensland's morbidly obese, a peak medical body says.
Free surgery for the morbidly obese is one of the key recommendations in the Australian Medical Association of Queensland's five-year health plan unveiled on Friday.
Queensland is the fattest state in the nation and about 5.4 per cent of hospital costs is spent on obese health issues, AMAQ president Dr Shaun Rudd says.
By 2020, about 15 million Queenslanders will be obese, a health crisis that the state needs to tackle from all angles, he says.
"Extremely obese people create long-term, huge costs for the healthcare system," he said.
With one in three obese people ranking morbidly obese and weight loss surgery costing about $15,000 a person, it'll cost taxpayers in the millions to fund, obesity surgeon Dr George Hopkins said.
However, he urged the state government to not baulk at the costs, given the associated savings.
Brisbane mum Yvette Kerr lost more than 40 kilograms and dropped from a size 26 to 14 after she had 80 per cent of her stomach removed in 2012.
Despite spending a small fortune on the surgery, she has no regrets.
"I have a child with a disability and I wanted to be around to support her through her journey. I didn't want to exit at 50 or 60," she said.
"I feel ten times better now: I can race around, chase my puppy, chase friends' kids around, go for a walk and a jog."
She believes free weight loss surgery is the answer for people in poor socio-economic conditions suffering from obesity.
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