Nottingham has ranked in the top five areas in the UK for hospital admissions due to obesity-related illnesses.
The local authority was fourth in the five regions found to have rates of more than 3,000 hospital admissions per 100,000 population.
In total, Nottingham recorded 8,805 admissions where obesity was a factor in 2018/19.
This compares to 8,510 admissions the previous year - a change of three percent based on rounded data.
Its admission rate per 100,000 was 3,205 compared to a national rate of 1,615.
Nottinghamshire was only just behind in sixth position.
Across the county, 24,545 admissions were recorded up from 22,540 the year before - a nine percent increase.
It puts the rate at 2,971 per 100,000.
Dr Irfan Malik, senior partner at Elmswood Surgery in Sherwood, said he had been "surprised" to see Nottingham ranked so highly.
"The figures show there is room for improvement," he added.
"The benefits of losing weight are so great it is perhaps worth a little bit more promotion.
"Especially with the link to Covid-19 now as well, as well as other illnesses such as hypertension, heart disease and diabetes - there really are so many benefits to losing weight.
"From a GP point of view it would certainly help our population.
"But it has been a terrible, difficult year and circumstances may have changed for people so we need to do more as a community and as a society across a range of ages.
"Losing weight is difficult and people do need advice and support that we may not always have scope for.
"But there is a growing lifestyle medicine with a lot of illnesses prevented by simple, early measures instead of having to take medications further down the line."
The rate across the whole of the East Midlands was 2,343 with all areas recording rates above the national rate.
Comparing Nottingham and Nottinghamshire with other parts of the region, Derby and Derbyshire had rates of 2,679 and 2,375 per 100,000 respectively.
Leicestershire, Leicester and Lincolnshire all recorded rates below 2,000.
In the rest of the UK, Wirral was found to have the most hospital admissions than anywhere else in the country, followed by Wigan, York, Nottingham and Stoke-on-Trent.
The areas with the lowest rates both below 500 per 100,000 were Wokingham and West Berkshire.
The figures come after a report was published by Public Health England in July this year about the impact of obesity combined with Covid-19.
It concluded patients who are overweight or obese are more likely to be hospitalised if infected with Covid-19 and also more likely to be admitted to intensive/critical care and to require advanced treatment for severe Covid-19 symptoms.
It also showed there was potentially a higher risk of Covid-19 related death.
