A growing number of obese patients are being admitted to Sussex hospitals suffering complications caused by their weight.

Medics treated seriously overweight people 9,258 times in one year – a third more than the year before.

Those seen included people needing gastric bands and other weight loss surgery.

The numbers also refer to people admitted for other problems linked to their weight, such as a heart attack or diabetes.

Obesity and its associated problems is estimated to cost the NHS in Sussex more than £460m a year.

In Brighton and Hove alone, cases of diabetes are predicted to soar by more than 70% over the next 16 years, reaching 17,842 by 2030.

Just under half of adults in Brighton and Hove are overweight or obese, which is lower than the national average.

But the figure rises to 65% in East and West Sussex.

David Brindley, Brighton and Hove City Council’s public health commissioner, said a wide range of work was being carried out to help people lose weight.

Advice is also available to help adults and children to keep healthy and active and not build up potential health problems for the future.

The public health team has linked up with the Brighton and Hove Food Partnership, Albion in the Community and local GPs to provide support.

Mr Brindley said: “ Key factors in helping stay within healthy weights include healthy eating and regular exercise so we proactively work as a city on both important areas.

“This work includes practical demonstrations at supermarkets as part of the national Smart Swaps initiative, which shows residents how to swap sugar and fatty ingredients out of foods and make tasty meals.

“There is also the Take Part international festival to encourage people to try different sports.

“Obesity is one of the biggest crises that we face as a nation and thanks to citywide hard work Brighton and Hove residents are some of the healthiest on average in England.

But the country still has the worst rates of obesity in Europe and it’s still a major problem in our city so we would urge residents concerned about their weight to make use of the many free services across the city.”

The hospital admission figures came from the Health and Social Care Information Centre and cover the financial year to March 2013.