WOMEN’S OBESITY TIMEBOMB LAID BARE
Two-thirds of them will be overweight by 2030 warns WHO
BRITAIN is facing an obesity timebomb with the vast majority of us likely to be overweight within just 15 years, a major study predicts.
Nearly three- quarters of British men and two-thirds of women will be too heavy by 2030, the World Health Organisation (WHO) found.
Unless more is done to tackle obesity, Britain and the rest of Europe will face a ‘enormous’ crisis, its experts warned.
The WHO study said that if current lazy lifestyles continue, 74 per cent of men in the UK will be overweight within 15 years. This figure includes the 36 per cent of men who will be categorised as obese – so overweight that their health is at serious risk.
Women will not be far behind, with 64 per cent expected to be overweight by 2030. This includes one third who will be classed as obese.
With obesity knocking up to nine years off a person’s life and raising the risk of diseases including cancer, millions face an early grave or ill health.
Researchers said more must be done to improve lifestyles dominated by fast food and time-saving technology, calling for sugary fizzy drinks to be taxed. The WHO and UK Health Forum looked at trends in weight across Europe and calculated what the picture will be in 15 years, if the pattern continues. The predictions, revealed at the European Congress on Obesity, are even worse for Ireland, where nearly everyone is expected to be overweight by 2030.
Only one of the 53 countries studied, the Netherlands, is forecast to have fewer fat men and women in 2030.
Being overweight is clinically defined as a Body Mass Index (BMI) – a measure relating height and weight – of 25 to 29.9, with a BMI of 30 and above seen as obese. For the WHO’s study, the ‘overweight’ category also included anyone who was obese.
Currently 59 per cent of British women are overweight, including 26 per cent who are obese. And 70 per cent of men are overweight, with 26 per cent obese.
Dr Laura Webber, of the UK Health Forum, said that in today’s world it was ‘simply easier to eat more and move less’. She said: ‘Our study presents a worrying picture of rising obesity across Europe. Policies to reverse this trend are urgently needed.
‘Although there is no “silver bullet” for tackling the epidemic, governments must do more to restrict unhealthy food marketing and make healthy food more affordable.’
She said Britain must move away from treating obesity as the responsibility of the individual.
Dr Matthew Capehorn, clinical director of the National Obesity Forum, said: ‘Obesity is increasing relentlessly – two-thirds of the UK population is already overweight or obese and the human – and financial – costs are staggering.
‘It’s cheaper to treat the obese than fund the consequences, so we need to see central government funds for public health, local authorities and clinical commissioning groups ringfenced to achieve this.
‘We also need to ensure that GP surgeries are incentivised to tackle obesity as a priority and that patients have access to proven weight-loss techniques, so each patient can use the right one for them.’
Obesity i s also blamed f or upping the risk of a host of cancers – including some of the forms that are hardest to treat. Rachel Thompson, head of research for the World Cancer Research Fund, said: ‘There is strong evidence that ten cancers are linked with overweight and obesity, including breast, bowel and advanced prostate cancer.
‘We estimate that in the UK around a third of the cases of the most common cancers could be prevented if people were a healthy weight, ate a healthy diet and were regularly physically active.’
Researchers said the British projections could be worse than others because they are based on professional measurements of weight and height, whereas in other countries individuals report their weight themselves – likely to lead to underestimates.
Diabetes UK’s Louise Ansari described the figures as a ‘wakeup call’, adding that it highlights ‘an urgent need for action’.
She said: ‘Being overweight or obese puts millions more people at increased risk of getting Type 2 diabetes – a serious health condition that can lead to devastating complications i ncluding blindness, kidney failure and amputation. Until more is done we will continue to witness the devastating impact of diabetes on both human lives and the already-strained NHS budget.’
‘Urgent need for action’