Earlier this year, a secret plan to cut the healthcare budget made headlines across the UK. As you might expect, any policy that affects average people is bound to be big news. But perhaps the most surprising thing about this story is who has devised the plan — the NHS.

That's right! The publically funded system supports retrenchment. According to the National Health Service, they want to save at least 20 billion pounds each year. To meet that ambitious goal, NHS managers will have to reduce hospital staff by at least 10 percent. But that's not all! The cuts will also include decreasing the number of beds and put a limit on ambulance callouts.

What prompted this? We can't be certain, but it was probably the 167 billion pound deficit the NHS announced last year. Few people argue that the system is working the way it is. The truth is that it is far too expensive and cannot possibly stay afloat as currently constituted. We need also to discuss the health guide.

One reason for the recent budgetary shortfall is that the UK has become increasingly unhealthy in recent years. Of particular concern is the rise in the obesity rate and the costly conditions and disorders it makes people more susceptible to. For instance, cases of type II diabetes have more than doubled over the past decade.

The NHS spends between five and eight hundred million pounds each year fighting the disease in the UK. And if this fattening trend continues, the costs are expected to double within the decade.