Obesity is a disease of the poor

Warning as well-off getting slimmer

OBESITY is now a “disease of the poor” as the well-off are getting the message on eating healthily, the world’s leading experts warn.

The number of obese British five to 19-year-olds went up from 360,000 in 1975 to 1.13 million last year, according to a report for the World Health Organisation.

Scientists said the overall child obesity rate of about 10% was flatlining but warned it was soaring for the poor and falling for the middle and upper classes.

The experts are now urging the Government to develop strategies to make healthier food more affordable.

Lead author Professor Majid Ezzati, of Imperial College London, said: “Very few policies attempt to make healthy foods such as whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables affordable to poor families.

“Unaffordability of healthy food options to the poor can lead to social inequalities in obesity and limit how much we can reduce its burden.” Dr Harry Rutter, from London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, added at a briefing: “Obesity starts in a country as a disease of the rich. Then it becomes a disease across all of society. It then becomes a disease of the poor.” The study was published in the Lancet journal to mark World Obesity Day today. Separate analysis found the amount spent on junk food advertising last year dwarfed the sum the Government forked out for its flagship healthy eating drive. Just £5.2million was spent on the Change4Life campaign – compared to £143million tempting us with unhealthy treats. ■ Nurse Kath Rothwell, 61, shed 11 stone thanks to a gastric bypass and is now in charge of the weight-loss service at Spire Murrayfield Hospital, Wirral.