Lazy patients who do not look after their own health are responsible for an escalating NHS crisis, according to doctors.
GPs said the public needed to take more responsibility for 'managing their own health' instead of solely relying on the health service.
The warning comes as a former NHS boss said the health service will only survive if patients take more responsibility for their health.
Ex-NHS England chief executive executive David Nicholson has warned that the cost to the NHS for treating preventable diseases could increase by £5 billion a year until 2018.
A study showed that 38 per cent of GPs believe patients prioritising their health would help the NHS (file photo)
His comments were made as a survey of doctors found that getting people to prioritise their health is believed to be more important than increased funding.
The strains on the NHS began to increasingly show over Christmas when NHS warned people to stay away from Accident and Emergency 'unless absolutely necessary'.
Sir David said: 'Encouraging patients and the broader public to take ownership for their own health is the holy grail and fundamental to the success of a sustainable NHS and indeed, all health systems globally.
'The cost to the NHS for treating preventable diseases could increase by £5 billion a year until 2018, so I am not surprised that doctors and nurses would prefer for patients to help tackle this burden by taking better care of themselves and reducing the risk of falling ill.'
He added: 'How we encourage patients to protect their health requires leadership and investment: patients need the right education, use of technology and incentives in order to change behaviour.
'Until these areas are addressed, we run the risk of always reaching for the wallet first.'
More than 300 GPs were asked to choose from a list of things that could ease the crisis on the NHS.
While 37 per cent opted for 'increased funding', 38 per cent chose 'patients taking greater responsibility for their health'.
Trisha Greenhalgh, professor of primary care health sciences at Oxford University, said: 'The survival of the NHS as we know it depends on a 'fully engaged' scenario in which all or most of the population live healthier lifestyles and take action to prevent and self-manage the chronic diseases that account for most of healthcare costs in this country.
Over the Christmas period the NHS told people to stay away from busy A&E departments unless 'necessary'
'But we need to recognise that both lifestyles and chronic diseases are strongly patterned by societal factors.
'It's a lot easier to buy healthy food, go jogging, obtain useful information from the internet and resist the pressure to smoke and drink to excess if you live in Hampstead than if you live in Toxteth, for example.'
As well as GPs, the wider survey, which included 101 nurses and 100 healthcare specialists agreed with the statement that 'healthcare services face significant pressure this winter' and that more staffing would help ease the winter crisis.
While GPs ranked individual responsibility higher than increased funding, among nurses 18 per cent thought patient responsibility was more important, while 33 per cent favoured increased funding.
Overall 70 per cent of respondents thought the NHS represents 'good value for money' for the taxpayer, 73 per cent thought the delivery of healthcare faces significant financial challenges.
Just 9 per cent of GPs thought the overall financial contribution made by the government towards healthcare is sufficient.
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