Brits ‘ wait longer for obesity help’ study finds

People with obesity in the UK wait much longer than the global average before discussing weight with a healthcare professional, a study has found.

An analysis of UK data from a global obesity study has shown that, on average, people with obesity in the UK were struggling with their weight for nine years before they sought help f rom a healthcare professional – much longer than the global average of six years.

This delay puts people with obesity at additional risk of developing obesityrelated conditions such as type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnoea and cancer.

The study by UK obesity experts, presented at the European and I nternational Congress on Obesity, found that more than half of the people with obesity had never discussed their weight with a professional.