England’s most obese neighbourhoods can today be named as the country’s waistline continues to expand.
Up to 27.7% of adults of are obese in the Paulsgrove East area of Portsmouth – the highest figure across the country, according to estimates released by the House of Commons Library (HoCL).
The figures are broken down into 7,265 ‘MSOAs’ – tiny pockets of the country home to around 8,000 people.
In city centres, the zones can amount to neighbourhoods built around a dozen or so streets.
According to the estimates, one in five residents are obese in 296 MSOAs.
Behind Portsmouth’s Paulsgrove East suburb came Moorends in Doncaster (27.2%) and Bridlington Hilderthorpe in the East Riding of Yorkshire (24.8%).
At the other end of the scale, Fitzrovia East in London’s Camden borough recorded the lowest rate at just 3.6%.
Similarly low figures were seen in Clifton East in Bristol (3.8%) and Leeds City Centre (3.8%).
Estimates are based on GP practices, reflecting the percentage of patients aged 18 and over with a BMI of 30 or above in the last year.
The HoCL admits that this method underestimates the true prevalence of obesity.
Official figures suggest that 28% of adults in England were obese in 2022 – defined as having a BMI above 30. Another 36% were overweight.
Rates have doubled since the early 1990s.
Experts have demanded urgent action in the war on obesity, as they take aim at the ultra-processed junk littering diets.
It comes after researchers last month expanding the definition for obesity, taking it beyond the traditional yardstick of a BMI score above 30.
Under the new rules, it would include waist size and weight to height ratio.
The amendments would, according to estimates, balloon Britain’s obese population from 13 million to nearly 21 million.
A raft of long-awaited new anti-obesity measures came into force in October.
Under new Government laws, buy one, get one free deals on sweets, crisps, sugary drinks and other snacks have been outlawed in England, along with free refills of fizzy drinks in restaurants and cafés.
The crackdown will be followed in January by a ban on online adverts for unhealthy food and drink, and restrictions on TV advertising before 9pm.
Ministers say the policies are designed to curb Britain’s growing obesity crisis, which costs the NHS £6.5billion every year, with the condition also being the second biggest preventable cause of cancer.
An analysis last year found that the average obese patient costs the NHS at least £1,000 in healthcare costs per year.