England’s obesity crisis is laid bare today in sobering interactive graphics that reveal the age group most likely to face health risks due to excess fat.
Stark figures show 8 in 10 men in England aged 55 to 64 are now overweight or obese.
By comparison, a third of men between the ages of 16 and 24 fall into the same category, according to the NHS.
Waistlines were also high among women, with more than two thirds (69 per cent) of those aged 55 to 64 and 65 to 74 now considered overweight or obese.
Being very overweight or obese is known to increase the risk of a multitude of diseases, from diabetes to several types of cancer.
The newly published data, for 2022, covers the period in which Britain was plunged into a cost of living crisis, which experts have long warned increases the risk of malnourishment due to high food and energy prices.
It also showed rates of obesity among adults have stagnated, having not fallen since 2019.
On average more than a quarter (29 per cent) of adults across the country are obese. This is classed as having a body mass index (BMI) above 30.
Just under two thirds (64 per cent) are overweight or obese — a BMI over 25.
More men (67 per cent) fell into this category than women (61 per cent).
The data, based of the Health Survey for England, surveyed almost 8,000 adults aged 16 and over.
Obesity and overweight rates also remained high among men over 30, with three quarters of those aged 35 to 44 in the category.
This was just two per cent lower in those 45 to 54 — 73 per cent.
Six in ten women aged 35 to 44, meanwhile, were classed as overweight or obese.
Dr Clare Hambling, NHS England’s national clinical director for diabetes and obesity, said: ‘Obesity is one of the biggest threats to health in the UK – it affects every human organ system and can have a major impact on people’s lives.
‘Obesity increases people’s risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, mental ill health and many other illnesses which can lead to shorter lives, or affect quality of life, with greater need for healthcare.
‘Today’s figures show the importance of supporting people who are overweight or living with obesity to reach a healthier weight.
‘The NHS can play its part in that, alongside local councils, but we need to work with the rest of society to tackle the issues that contribute to obesity to help people remain as healthy as possible.’
According to the data, more than half (53%) of adults in England also had raised cholesterol in 2022, up from 43 per cent in 2019.
Among women the figure stood at 56 per cent, with men at 49 per cent.
But this rose to more than three quarters (79 per cent) among women aged 55 to 64.
Officials suggested that restricted access to GPs during the pandemic may have had an impact on the number of people tested for raised cholesterol.
Prescriptions for cholesterol-busting drugs fell between March 2020 and July 2021, compared with the pre-pandemic period, they added.
Cholesterol is a fatty substance found in the blood and is needed by the body to function.
Too much of a certain type of cholesterol can be harmful as it can clog blood vessels and reduce blood flow, potentially leading to heart attacks and strokes.
The average women needs to eat around 2,000 calories a day to maintain a healthy weight, while the figure is 2,500 for men.
Weight gain occurs when a person, over times, consumes more calories than they burn.
Obesity has been well established as increasing the risk of serious health conditions that can damage the heart, such as high blood pressure, as well as cancers.
Being too fat has been estimated to cause one in 20 cancer cases in Britain, according to the Cancer Research UK.
Britain’s obesity crisis is also estimated to cost the nation nearly £100billion per year.
More than 42million adults in the UK will be overweight or obese by 2040, according to projections by Cancer Research UK
This colossal figure includes the health harms on the NHS as well as secondary economic effects like lost earnings from people taking time off work due to illness and early deaths.
Experts have blamed the nation’s ever-expanding waistline on the simultaneous rise of processed, calorie-laden food and sedentary, desk-bound lifestyles.
The former Government had committed to helping Brits lose weight but stepped back from what they were termed ‘nanny-state’ style initiatives.
Back in 2020, ex-PM Boris Johnson announced a ‘world-leading’ obesity action plan, partly inspired by how his own weight put him at greater risk of severe illness when he caught Covid.
However, he later shied away from radical proposals put forward by Mr Dimbleby, who was asked by the Conservatives to produce recommendations to improve the nation’s diet and combat the promotion of foods high in fat, sugar and salt.
But earlier this month the government confirmed a ban on junk food ads being shown on TV before 9pm would come into force in October 2025.
Labour said the watershed on advertising would be enforced alongside a total ban on paid-for online ads, both aimed at tackling childhood obesity.
Health Minister Andrew Gwynne argued that the government wanted ‘to tackle the problem head on’ and ‘without further delay’.