Half of adults ‘obese by 2045’

ALMOST half the UK’s adults will be obese by 2045, experts warn.

They predict the NHS will be overwhelmed by patients needing treatment for obesity-related diseases if current trends continue.

Public health interventions have done little to stem the tide, they say, with around a third of adults currently obese or overweight. A research team, including University College London, predicted this number would rise to 48 per cent within three decades – causing one in eight to develop type 2 diabetes.

Danish researcher Dr Alan Moses, who led the global study presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Vienna, said the UK faces a ‘staggering challenge’ to slim – or a crippling cost to our Health Service.