ALMOST 13,000 people ended up in Worcestershire's hospitals because they were so obese last year - in shock new figures revealed as some of the worst in Britain.

A staggering 12,987 patients went to hospital where doctors identified obesity as the 'primary or secondary' cause of their problems.

The figure is the seventh highest in the whole of Britain and the worst in the West Midlands on a per-head basis.

Shocked health experts have called the county's situation "a dangerous epidemic", saying they have "huge concerns".

The figure comes just six months after we revealed how Worcester is a junk food hotspot, with the third highest density of takeaways in the region.

It also comes amid serious financial problems at Worcestershire's hospitals, particularly at Worcester royal which is in special measures and under immense pressure.

For every 100,000 people in the county, 2,707 of them end up in hospital with obesity being a cause, comfortably the worst in the region.

The problem is so acute that Worcestershire's raw numbers are twice as bad as Coventry and Dudley and four times as bad as Sandwell and Stoke-on-Trent in 2015/16.

There were calls yesterday for a snap investigation by public health officials to try and find out why the county is faring so badly.

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Dr Stephen Millar, the regional chair of the British Medical Association, said: "The statistics reveals the scale of the growing obesity problem we are facing.

"With the NHS at breaking point, these figures are a huge cause for concern.

"Obesity levels have increased from 15 per cent in 1993 to 27 per cent in 2015 with the number of obesity related hospital admissions increasing tenfold over the last decade.

"Worcestershire has the highest rate of obesity related hospital admissions in the West Midlands and amongst the worst in the country."

He called it "a dangerous epidemic" and urged council chiefs to look afresh at policies around 10 and 11-year-olds, with a third of them classed as obese.

Councillor Alan Amos, who chairs Worcestershire County Council's health overview and scrutiny committee said: "This is alarming and something we need to take seriously, when people are obese it affects their whole lives."

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"We need to have an inquiry into this and look at the matter in detail. It's not just about the NHS, but getting parents involved and looking at the planning system too."

The county council, which is responsible for public health, says it supports the use of 'Health Impact Assessments' on planning applications to keep a control over developments like takeaways.

A council spokesman also cited a project called 'Worcestershire Works Well' which links up with over 80 organisations to promote healthy workplaces.

He said: "The causes of obesity are complex, and tackling obesity requires long term action across society."

Nationally only the Wirral, Wakefield, Slough, Southampton, Cornwall and Torbay fare worse, with Worcestershire seventh out of more than 150 areas.