The health insurance system needs drastic surgery to cut ballooning costs caused by obesity and chronic disease, fitness experts said yesterday.

But arresting the trend will need a collaborative approach before people’s lifestyles make them sick, Richard Burns and Sue Pell of Court House Fitness told The Royal Gazette.

Mr Burns questioned why exercise was not covered by insurance payments.

He said: “We’d rather see doctors prescribe fitness than pills, but we don’t have people sent to us with doctor’s notes prescribing exercise — gyms are not covered.”

But the two welcomed news that businesses are no longer to be taxed for providing gym membership.

A recent examination of recent healthcare figures revealed the massive costs of preventable illness in Bermuda.

The Bermuda Health Council reported obesity cost the island $15.8 million in health insurance over ten years, but the sum did not account for the cost of other illnesses caused by obesity.

Ricky Brathwaite, the Council’s director of health economics, said the estimate was based on insurance claims coded for obesity, which were $88 higher than others.

But for patients treated for stroke or heart attack, the costs would go under a separate model.

Mr Brathwaite said that expanded costs “may not just be attributed solely to being obese, but could take into account other risk factors (such as family history, environmental conditions, access to quality healthcare, smoking status) that ultimately lead to someone having a stroke or other complex health condition.

He added: “And as everyone knows, acute events such as a stroke or heart attack are extremely expensive to treat.”

Mr Burns said the technology was in place for gyms to track and display health results month by month.

He explained: “These days, if exercise is prescribed, our machines will measure it — we can show the data.”

Among the high-tech equipment in Court House are scanners to track the build-up of internal fat, which provide a more accurate picture of health than measuring a waistline.

So-called “visceral” fat, deposited deep inside the abdomen, has been linked to a litany of serious complaints from diabetes, cancer and heart disease to dementia and stroke.

Mr Burns said that by heading off illnesses before they become acute, Bermuda’s $11,102 per head annual spend on health could be cut.

He warned that otherwise, as costs climb, “the Government will have to pick up the tab, which will be more expensive for everybody”.

Mr Burns added: “And the Government obviously does not have the money.”

Ms Pell, the Court House manager, said the island needed to appreciate that “we have an epidemic, but we can change that if everyone gets on board to fix our own problems”.

She added: “Our healthcare industry has become unsustainable — something has to give, and people are not being held accountable.

“Imagine if health insurance was done like car insurance and, if you’re a good driver, you get a better rate.

“We can’t just say it’s our culture. A lot of this boils down to what we’re eating. If the costs keep going up, insurers’ rates go up — the unhealthy people can’t work and young people have to cover it.”

While both welcomed steps such as a proposed “sugar tax” on junk food and sodas, Ms Pell suggested steps to cut the price of healthy foods.

She said: “If we reduced our taxes on fresh food and vegetables, and increased taxes on junk food, that would help people to purchase the right food.”

Ms Pell added: “If it were mandatory for restaurants to label healthy options, like it is in other countries, it would help to make it easier for people.

“We also need to continue educating our young people — we see huge obesity problems with children.”

She said: “It’s also about the people themselves. Eating and drinking are a lifestyle choice; not exercising is a choice. People are making the wrong choices — but also the wrong choices for their children.”