Britain's obesity epidemic is well documented.

Generally, we are a nation getting larger, and one that will probably be faced with a plethora of associated problems in years to come.

But in many cases the solution to the problem of being overweight and unhealthy is simple - eat less and exercise more.

So the news that the number of life-saving stomach operations carried out on obese people in Oxfordshire has soared is alarming.

In 2006/07, 29 gastric bypass operations were carried out in the county - a 16 per cent rise on the year before.

The surgery - which costs up to £15,000 a time - reduces stomach size, meaning people eat less.

What is and what is not available on the NHS has long been a contentious issue - but it is made more poignant when one considers that the NHS in Oxfordshire has refused to administer the cancer-fighting drug Sunitinib to at least 15 people.

This drug is available on the NHS in other areas.

We will never know whether cancer victims Jim Wheeler or Martyn Sumner - who were both denied the drug - might have lived longer with it.

But many will question the logic of funding stomach-reducing operations for some, while others are denied a drug designed to battle a horrible disease.