Surging obesity levels bode ill for Britain’s future
THESE are scary statistics. And they should worry all of us, because clearly whatever we’ve been doing to try to stop this apparently inevitable rise hasn’t been working.
There’s a danger that we start to accept these levels of obesity as ‘normal’.
I find it particularly upsetting to see such a big surge in overweight or obese young people aged 16 to 24. They should be in peak physical condition – the prime of life.
But by piling on the fat, particularly around the waist, they are putting themselves at increased risk of a number of serious illnesses that may end up killing them.
Chief among them is type 2 diabetes: slim people can develop it but if you have a large waist, you are at much greater risk.
Getting type 2 diabetes in your 50s is bad enough but if you get it in your mid30s, which is increasingly happening, it’s much worse because your arteries, eyes, nerves and other organs are exposed to the damaging effects of high blood sugar for longer.
Having type 2 diabetes also increases the risk of dementia, while being overweight raises the risk of heart disease and various cancers.
I’ve seen claims that the alarming increase in obesity among the young means they will lead shorter lives than their parents. I don’t think this will happen, as modern medicine is extremely good at keeping us alive. The greater tragedy, in my view, is that modern, overweight youngsters will live long lives but their latter years will be Overweight youngsters may face health issues spent suffering with ill health. This will prove extremely expensive for all of us – a recent paper suggested diabetes costs Britain almost £24 billion each year, and this could hit £40 billion by 2035.
To prevent this happening, governments have to act.
But individuals also have to take responsibility for their own health – and that starts with being honest about it.