Taxpayer-funded stomach-stapling operations are among drastic measures being investigated to curb obesity.
Health officials confirmed to the Dominion Post they were investigating a proposal that could allow hundreds of morbidly obese people to have the surgery.
One in three New Zealanders are classed as overweight and 826,100 as obese, according to the latest Government health survey.
The Health Ministry is considering "surgical and non-surgical options" for treating the morbidly obese, whose size is life-threatening. Last year there were just 70 publicly funded operations nationwide.
The initiative is based on the argument that spending up to $25,000 once to staple a patient's stomach is cheaper than treating later obesity-related illnesses, the newspaper reported.
