Boozy Britain now Europe’s third most obese country
BRITAIN is the third fattest nation in Europe, fuelled by its boozy lifestyles, says the World Health Organisation.
Research on 53 countries found Britain rising up the obesity league table, making it among the “world champions” for drinking alcohol.
The WHO said the “alarming” trends threatened to cut short the lives of generations living on junk food and alcohol. The study of 900 million people found only Malta
10.7 The volume, in litres, of pure alcohol the average Briton drinks in the course of a year
and Turkey had higher obesity levels than the UK, which was in fifth place six years ago.
Britain’s alcohol intake was on a par with countries such as Poland and Latvia, international statistics show. Officials warned that such habits were likely to be a “huge contributor” to the obesity rates. On average, Britons drank 10.7 litres of pure alcohol a year, compared with a European average of 8.6. In total, 27.8 per cent of adults were obese, while 63.7 per cent were classed as overweight or obese. The worsening trends saw Britain overtake Lithuania and Andorra.
Dr Claudia Stein, a WHO director, said the trends threatened to “jeopardise life expectancy,” with obesity
and alcohol linked to a host of illnesses, including diabetes and heart disease.
“We hold the horrible record of being the world champions in alcohol consumption. That’s not good and it’s especially not good for the next generation,” she said. High levels of obesity were being seen among children as young as 11. Tam Fry, from the National Obesity Forum, said: “For two decades, successive UK governments have done virtually nothing to confront the obesity epidemic.” Millions of children were now so overweight they were doomed to die before their parents – an “appalling personal tragedy”.
He urged adults to rein in drinking habits. “Adults forget just how many calories are contained in alcohol and heavy drinkers certainly will have little idea that they could be knocking back a quarter of their recommended daily calorie allowance before even touching a bite to eat.”
Today, Tom Watson, the deputy Labour leader, will speak to fitness experts, setting out how he reversed his type 2 diabetes after swapping beer and curries for avocado salads. His radical diet, cutting sugar, meant he no longer needed medication. He said Labour would stop diabetes within one parliamentary term if it came to power.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “Our ambitious obesity plans go further than other countries. Our regulations on junk food advertising to children are some of the toughest in the world – while our soft drinks levy has removed tons of sugar from children’s diets.”