By 2030 nearly 39 million adults will be overweight or obese in the UK, a rise of more than six million
12:01AM BST 06 May 2015
Six million more people will be overweight or obese in the next 15 years placing a huge burden on the NHS Photo: REX FEATURES
Almost three quarters of British men and two thirds of women will be overweight or obese by 2030, the World Health Organisation has predicted leading health experts to urge the government to restrict junk food advertising.
The new figures, which were released on Wednesday, show that the UK has one of the worst obesity rates in Europe with only a handful of countries having a fatter population.
By 2030 nearly 39 million adults will be overweight or obese, a rise of six million.
Currently around a quarter of women in Britain are obese but that will jump to one third by 2030 to 19 million.
Likewise just 26 per cent of men are considered clinically obese presently, but in the next 15 years that will rise to more than one in three.
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Similarly the number of overweight men will rise from 70 per cent to 74 per cent, and women from 59 per cent to 64 per cent.
The figures are in stark contrast to countries like Belgium and the Netherlands where fewer than half of the population will be overweight by 2030.
In fact, just six of the 52 countries in the WHO’s European region have worse obesity weight rates for women. They include Moldova, Kazakhstan and the Czech Republic.
Dr Laura Webber, Director of Public Health Modelling at the UK Health Forum who helped compile the new statistics said: “Our study represents a worrying picture of rising obesity across Europe.
“Policies to reverse this trend are urgently needed. Although these is no silver bullet for tackling the epidemic, governments must do more to restrict unhealthy food marketing and make healthy food more affordable.”
Obesity is known to trigger a number of serious and life-threatening conditions such as type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, cancer and stroke. It can also lead to psychological problems and serious depression.
The NHS currently spends £6 billion a year on the direct medical costs of conditions related to being overweight or obese, five per cent of the entire health service budget. But those costs are expected to rise to £10 billion by 2030.
Ireland was found to have the worst obesity rates in the WHO European Region, where 89 per cent will be overweight or obese and nearly 50 per cent clinically obese.
Many health campaigners have called for sugary drinks and foods to be taxed, but Jeremy Hunt the health secretary has ruled out such a measure.
A new survey by the University of Cambridge also found that the majority of the public do not want new taxes imposed on unhealthy foods. However they would welcome more ‘nudge’ strategies which encouraged healthier eating.
Dr Dragos Petrescu, Behaviour and Health Research Unit, University of Cambridge, UK, who surveyed 2,000 people said: “Policymakers can be reassured about the public acceptability of nudging to reduce sugar-sweetened beverages consumption.
“However our results suggest taxation to lower consumption would not be popular with the majority of both the UK population.”
The Department of Health and Public Health England said they could not comment on the report in the run up to Thursday’s election.
But charities said the report should be a 'wake up call' both to individuals and the next government.
Louise Ansari, Diabetes UK Director of Prevention of Type 2 diabetes: “Being overweight or obese puts millions more people at increased risk of getting Type 2 diabetes - a serious health condition that, left undiagnosed or poorly managed, can lead to devastating complications including blindness, kidney failure and amputation.
"So these projections highlight an urgent need for action to be taken to encourage people to follow a healthy lifestyle, maintaining a healthy weight through doing regular physical activity and eating a healthy diet."
The new figures were presented at the annual European Congress on Obesity in Prague.
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