Obesity crisis means 40 million Brits could be overweight by the year 2035

Future generations could be faced with severe health problems and shorter lifespans if action is not taken now to tackle an obesity crisis that is threatening to spiral out of control, according to a new report.

The Obesity Health Alliance has estimated that about 40 million adults in the UK could be classed as overweight or obese within 2 decades, with over 7.6 million new cases of disease by 2035. Being overweight is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of between 25 and 29.9, whilst obese is defined as having a BMI of 30 or more.

Widespread weight gain in Brits may result in 4.62 million cases of type 2 diabetes, 1.63 million cases of coronary heart disease, and 670,000 new cases of cancer, warned the new study.

This isn’t even taking into account other major health issues that can arise from piling on the pounds, not including conditions such as high blood pressure (hypertension), liver disease, osteoarthritis, or chronic kidney disease, which can all plain a huge burden on already stretched NHS resources.
Furthermore, becoming obese may then ignite other issues like poor and unhealthy eating, low self-esteem and mental health problems.

However, with swift action, a small change now could make a big difference in the future. Even just a 1% change in the number of people gaining weight every year up until 2035 may avoid around 77,000 cases of disease including 45,000 cases of type 2 diabetes in the year 2035 alone.

Therefore, the Obesity Health Alliance is urging the Government to create a substantial childhood obesity strategy immediately to combat the obesity epidemic. Measures the group want introducing include a restriction on junk food TV advertising prior to the 9pm watershed, tightening online marketing to align with broadcast regulations, as well as setting targets for industry to reduce the amount of sugar and fat in food.

Alison Cox, Cancer Research UK’s director of prevention and member the Obesity Health Alliance, said: “These numbers are shocking. And it’s difficult to think of the impact this will have on public health and an already strained NHS. Without bold action, the next generation will face more disease and live shorter lives.

“Kids are bombarded with advertisements for unhealthy food and if we are to give our children the chance for better and healthier lives, it’s vital the Government’s childhood obesity strategy restricts this kind of marketing.”

Modi Mwatsama, Director of Policy and Global Health at the UK Health Forum and member of the Obesity Health Alliance, said: “This study is a wakeup call for the Government and shows a daunting future if no strong action is taken against the obesity epidemic.
“We can’t expect industry to make changes on their own and people need help making healthier choices. Companies will have to be held accountable by Government. The Government must lead the way by creating a level playing field with independent, regulated targets for reducing the amount of sugar, fat and salt in food. Without Government action, our children face a life of disease and early death.”
According to the European Association for the Study of Obesity, here are some key facts to remember about it:

• Worldwide obesity has nearly doubled since 1980.
• In 2008, more than 1.4 billion adults, 20 and older, were overweight. Of these over 200 million men and nearly 300 million women were obese.
• 35% of adults aged 20 and over were overweight in 2008, and 11% were obese.
• 65% of the world’s population live in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight.
• Overweight and obesity are the fifth leading risk for global deaths. At least 2.8 million adults die each year as a result of being overweight or obese.
• 44% of the diabetes burden, 23% of the ischaemic heart disease burden and between 7% and 41% of certain cancer burdens are attributable to overweight and obesity.
• More than 40 million children under the age of five were overweight in 2011.
• Obesity is preventable.

Obesity will not just happen to somebody overnight. It is something that develops gradually over time, mainly due to poor diet and lifestyle choices.

NHS choices have listed the main dietary pitfalls that cause people to gain weight, which include:

• Eating large amounts of processed or fast food – that’s high in fat and sugar.
• Drinking too much alcohol – alcohol contains a lot of calories, and people who drink heavily are often overweight.
• Dating out a lot – you may be tempted to also have a starter or dessert in a restaurant, and the food can be higher in fat and sugar.
• Eating larger portions than you need – you may be encouraged to eat too much if your friends or relatives are also eating large portions.
• Drinking too many sugary drinks – including soft drinks and fruit juice.
• Comfort eating – if you have low self-esteem or feel depressed, you may eat to make yourself feel better.

Lack of physical activity is a key factor behind obesity, with many using their cars to get around and doing less walking or cycling. Moreover, we are becoming a nation of TV and computer game addicts, instead of getting out and doing regular exercise.


The Department of Health recommends that each week adults should be engaging in at least 150 minutes (2 and a half hours) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, such as cycling or fast walking. However, this doesn’t need to be done all in one go. For example, you could exercise for 30 minutes a day for 5 days in the week.

Medical Specialists® Pharmacy are able to provide help for those trying to lose weight, with our fantastic range of obesity treatments such as Xenical and Orlistat. Used in conjunction with a balanced diet and exercise, these treatments are very effective in enabling people to lose weight and regain confidence again.

Pounds gained for lbs lost: Overweight people could be paid to lose weight

The UK obesity crisis has reached such epic proportions – one in 4 Brits are now classified as obese – that the NHS are now throwing their weight behind a plan to reward people who successfully lose weight.

Under proposed new plans, employers will be encouraged to offer incentives to employees who manage to shed the pounds, such as cash or shopping vouchers. The scheme will be aimed at relieving the huge financial strain on the NHS through the care for overweight or obese patients, and related health complications.

New ways to try and tackle the growing problem of obesity comprise of just a few methods proposed in a “radical” overhaul of the country’s healthcare system proposed by the NHS for the next parliament. Tax cuts for volunteers and “breaking down the boundaries” between GPs and hospitals have also been discussed in the report by NHS England.

However, it is not just work employees that are being encouraged to watch their waistlines, with NHS staff being urged to “set a national example” by adhering to healthier lifestyles. There are plans to prevent access to unhealthy food on NHS sites and monitor the health and wellbeing of NHS staff.
The report also states that local authorities should be stricter on fast-food and alcohol outlets to improve the overall health of their community.

“Put bluntly, as the nation’s waistline keeps piling on the pounds, we’re piling on billions of pounds in future taxes just to pay for preventable illnesses,” the report says.

 There could be a “severe consequences” for patients if the healthcare system is not revamped and improved according to officials, who are also pleading with an increase in funding from the next government.

However, top doctor Clive Peedell said: “This policy will do nothing to help the millions of unemployed and the growing numbers of self-employed people who may need help but won’t qualify.”

NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens commented: “We have no choice but to do this. If we do it a better NHS is possible, if we don’t the consequences for patients will be severe.”

Sir Bruce Keogh, national medical director of NHS England, said the NHS remains “one of the best healthcare systems in the world”, but stressed: “We’ve squeezed the orange really hard over the last four years. People working in the NHS are really beginning to feel the pressure.”

Mr Stevens added that he believed a tax-payer funded health system has resulted in a “blind spot” with regards to the healthcare of employees, and that despite success in other countries abroad, workplace schemes to encourage workers to lose weight have been relatively ignored in this country.
He said: “The principal point is that employers in many countries have developed voluntary schemes for their employees whereby for example you actually get cash back based on participation in Weight Watchers or other type schemes.”

When quizzed as to what kind of rewards may be on offer, he said: “It could be shopping vouchers, it could be cash, it could be prizes”, adding that the rewards could be higher or lower for the person depending on how much weight had been shed.

The NHS are considering “challenging” companies to introduce the schemes instead of offering them money.

According to Mr Stevens obesity is “getting worse in some respects” highlighted childhood obesity as “a significant future health threat”.

He said: “When your son or daughter starts primary school one in 10 children are obese. By the time they reach Year 6 that’s doubled to one in five so something is going wrong with the way in which we are keeping our children healthy and setting them up for a good start in life.”

Larger hospital mortuary fridges needed due to obesity crisis

The worrying UK obesity crisis has been further highlighted by the fact that it has emerged hospitals are being forced to purchase specialist equipment to keep corpses cool in mortuary fridges because the bodies are simply too big.

Due to a burgeoning obesity crisis spreading around the UK with poor diet and inactive lifestyles on the rise, the NHS are spending millions as hospitals are now having to increase the width of corridors, as well as provide lifting equipment and stronger, reinforced beds to cater for the ever-growing number of obese patients.

Figures acquired by The Telegraph show that NHS funds have been depleted of least £5.5 million in the last three years so that hospitals can be adapted to cope with the increasing number of larger patients coming through their doors.

This has led to some health experts warning that the cost of treating overweight and obese patients may soar to at least £10 million annually as waistlines continue to expand.

Around a quarter of adults in Britain are believed to be obese, and predictions state this could spiral to more than half the population within the next three decades.

A Freedom of Information request describes how hospitals are being forced to buy specialist beds, wheelchairs, commodes and crutches for larger patients.

For instance, a Yeovil District Hospital NHS Trust had to spend £15,000 on a bariatric body cooling system, a storage facility for the bodies of obese patients when they are unable to fit into regular sized mortuary fridges.

Last year Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kings Lynn, also had to spend more on a bariatric body store fridge for obese patients, forking out £30,000 for the fridge and an extra £20,000 just to strengthen an operating theatre floor.

Meanwhile, Doncaster and Bassetlaw NHS Trust had to widen their corridors so obese patients could fit through them, at a cost of £80,000, whilst Milton Keynes Hospital were paying £65 each day to hire a bed fit to hold the weight of a patient weighing nearly half a ton (400kg).

The National Obesity Forum’s Tam Fry said that NHS costs for obesity are only going to rise.
He said: “We are not seeing the end of the obesity problem and people are getting fatter. It has got to such a point that so much now has to be widened and strengthened. That runs to beds, hoists, wheelchairs and operating tables. And it also includes ambulances, morgues and crematoriums.”

Mr Fry added: “I think these costs will continue to increase. The problem is what we saw as “big” 20 years ago is now normal.”

Dr Aseem Malhotra, a director of Action on Sugar, said: “Inaction is not an option. I think diets should be made part of health policy. We need to tackle the root cause, the food environment – otherwise we will be crippled by the cost.”

Health experts demand 30% reduction in food sugar content

Sugar is the primary food and drink component which is causing havoc for Britain’s obesity crisis, health experts claim.

The scientists and doctors behind ‘Action on Sugar’ – which is modelled on the 1990s group Consensus Action on Salt and Health (Cash) – are hoping to put enough pressure on the government and industry enough to help enforce as much as a 30% sugar reduction in food and drink products. Cash, chaired by Professor Graham MacGregor, who also heads Action on Sugar, managed to bring down salt levels in our food and the hope is a similar impact can be had on our sugar levels.

The say that with a 20-30% reduction in sugar content, this could slash calorie intake by about 100kcal a day and this figure could be much higher for those who have a high sugar intake each day.
Instead of drastically cutting sugar in one clean swoop, Action on Sugar argue for a gradual decrease in the amount of sugar within ready meals, cereals, sweets and soft drinks, as this is less likely to be noticed by the general public. Basically, it would be comparable to weaning people off sugar!

Professor MacGregor says: “This is a simple plan which gives a level playing field to the food industry, and must be adopted by the Department of Health to reduce the completely unnecessary and very large amounts of sugar the food and soft drink industry is currently adding to our foods…Provided the sugar reductions are done slowly, people won’t notice. In most products in the supermarkets, the salt has come down by between 25% and 40%.”

Dr Aseem Malhotra, cardiologist and science director of Action on Sugar, said: “Added sugar has no nutritional value whatsoever and causes no feeling of satiety. Aside from being a major cause of obesity, there is increasing evidence that added sugar increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and fatty liver.”

To try and ease the obesity crisis, the government’s strategy so far has been to reduce targeted marketing and calorie reduction, mainly done through the public health responsibility deal.
MacGregor says it is not enough though and has had little bearing on calorie intake. He says “We must start to slowly reduce the amount of calories people consume by slowly taking out added sugar from foods and soft drinks.”

But the food and drink industry is obviously fighting its corner and has argued it is unfair to pinpoint sugar as the cause of the obesity crisis gripping the UK.

The Food and Drink Federation commented: “Sugars, or any other nutrient for that matter, consumed as part of a varied and balanced diet are not a cause of obesity, to which there is no simple or single solution. That’s why the food industry has been working on a range of initiatives with other players to tackle obesity and diet-related diseases.”

They also argue that consumers can clearly see the sugar content of the products they are buying, with manufacturers being forced to adhere to strict regulations for this, adding that the industry has already lowered salt and saturated fats, with little concrete proof that sugar is particularly damaging.

20% tax on sugary drinks could ease Britain’s obesity crisis

Researchers say that if a 20% tax was slapped onto all sugary drinks then this would help to bring down the total number of obese adults in the UK by an estimated 180,000.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, the researchers from Oxford and Reading argue that the 20% tax on Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Fanta and other sugar-sweetened drinks, would help to curb the worrying rise in sales of such drinks which they say is merely adding fuel to the fire of the nation’s obesity crisis.

The authors of the paper have spent time to calculate both the financial impact of introducing a 20% tax, and how much effect it could have in regards to trying to curtail the problem of obesity.

Dr Adam Briggs, lead study author from the Nuffield Department of Population Health at Oxford University, said their research has shown that taxing sugar-sweetened drinks “is a promising population measure”.

He commented: “Sugar-sweetened drinks are known to be bad for health and our research indicates that a 20% tax could result in a meaningful reduction in the number of obese adults in the UK. Such a tax is not going to solve obesity by itself, but we have shown it could be an effective public health measure and should be considered alongside other measures to tackle obesity in the UK.”

Dr Briggs and colleagues modelled the health effects of a 20% by using the information extracted from several separate surveys. These surveys had provided data on the trends of drink purchases, drinks consumption, and the prevalence of obesity throughout the UK.

They calculated that a 20% tax would equate to a 60p can of 330ml Coca-Cola now costing 72p, and help to cut the number of overweight adults in the UK by 0.9% (285,000 adults) and reduce the number of obese adults by 1.3% (180,000) adults. The tax would also result in roughly 40p being added to the cost of two-litre bottle.

The age group most effected would likely be those aged 16 to 29 the researchers say, as these typically consume a lot more sugary drinks in comparison to other age groups.

Because it is merely the over 30s who would be impacted by the introduction of the tax, this has led to some groups arguing that the tax would be misguided and simplistic, not having much of an impact on older people who could actually benefit most from losing weight.

Gavin Partington, director general of the British Soft Drinks Association, argued that soft drinks should not be blamed for Britain’s obesity problems.

He said: “There’s ample evidence to suggest that taxing soft drinks won’t curb obesity, not least because its causes are far more complex than this simplistic approach implies. Indeed, the latest official guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence points to the need to look at overall diet and lifestyle. Trying to blame one set of products is misguided, particularly when they comprise a mere 2% of calories in the average diet.”

In addition, Tom Sanders, professor of nutrition and dietetics at King’s College London, argued that the findings of the study were somewhat “naive”.

He said: “Most nutritionists agree it would be better to drink water than sugar-sweetened beverages. However, many consumers like sweet drinks and if they could not afford to buy sugary fizzy drinks they can always revert to drinking tea with added sugar as in the past. The cost of sugar-sweetened beverages is currently so low that any price increase would be so marginal that it would be unlikely to affect intake.”

However, the facts do not lie when it comes to fizzy drinks and the fact remains that a typical sugary drink still contains a shocking six to 15 teaspoons of sugary. Just one teaspoon of sugary works out at around 16 calories and 4g of sugar. On top of this, a regular consumption of the drinks has been linked to an increase in the risk of tooth decay and diabetes as well as obesity.

In fact, earlier this year doctors led calls for a tax on sugary drinks, in addition to other recommendations such as the number of fast food outlets close by to schools and colleges to be severely limited and a ban on junk food advertising before the watershed.

Junk food at supermarket checkouts is worsening the obesity crisis

Parents – have you ever been stood in a supermarket shopping queue that seems to never decrease in size, this whilst simultaneously being nagged endlessly by your children for chocolate and/or sweets which are convenient placed right at the end of each and every checkout. If so, you are not alone, and this is the dilemma faced by millions of parents around Britain who are being harassed by their children into buying the unhealthy junk food stacked up at the checkouts.

In fact, a new survey has found that a staggering 90% of shoppers believe this cunning sales tactic is partly contributing to obesity and surely now the Government will be forced to push through legislation aimed at stopping this practice, and easing the spiralling obesity crisis.

On Monday a campaign was launched called ‘Junk Free Checkouts’ which does exactly what it says on the tin – aims to make supermarket checkouts free of junk and help to put an end to the ‘pester power’ of children who almost bully their parents into buying them unhealthy and high sugary treats that are placed near the tills.

The initiative was announced by the British Dietetic Association and the Children’s Food Campaign, following the results of a nationwide survey in which 78% of people complained that junk food at supermarket checkouts is ‘annoying’. Moreover, 83% of respondents said they had been nagged by their children for junk food at the checkouts and 75% have relented and bought junk for their children due to incessant pestering.

There was almost 2,000 people who completed the Chuck the Junk Survey, mainly comprising of women, of which two thirds had children.

Supermarkets have been pressured by health campaigners for a number of years to stop selling unhealthy junk food at their tills as they say it is blatantly targeted at easily swayed children and the promotional offers do not help matters on what has been described as the ‘guilt lanes’.

Speaking on behalf of the British Dietetic Association, obesity specialist Linda Hindle commented: “Retailers are unwilling to stop pushing unhealthy food at the checkout and queuing areas. It may be lucrative for them but, as our survey found, it is deeply unpopular with customers and nudges purchasing behaviour in the wrong direction. If retailers can’t act on their own, then we hope to see robust action from the Government to tackle this problem.”

The issue was raised in Government back in July when health minister Anna Soubry blasted supermarkets for the cynical store layouts which make it particularly difficult for parents with young children. However, she then ruled out any clampdown on the sweet and chocolate guilt lanes in shops and supermarkets, merely days after making a vow to get rid of them.

Some of the worst offenders in this regard have found to be Asda, Morrisons and Tesco, all stocking an alarming amount of junk food at their tills.

Campaigners have hit out at Supermarkets for seemingly not acting on promises to improve their methods in selling confectionery in the wake of a 2003 investigation by the independent watchdog the Food Commission.

There are those who say that stocking checkout aisles with chocolate and sweets is a calculating ploy by the supermarkets to tempt shoppers into a sugar rush after a long, laborious trek around the supermarket.

Professor of marketing at EM-Lyon Business School, Agnes Nairn, said that shoppers could change their buying habits by the point of reaching the checkout. “Consumers are more likely to go for something unhealthy when they are tired because they aren’t able to make the rational decision they would make otherwise,” she said. “Although they all know that a chocolate egg is not as good for them as fruit salad, if you have to do that in a hurry, they make the wrong choice.”

Obesity crisis worsens as 11-year-old boy reaches 24 stone

England’s childhood obesity epidemic could be much worse than first thought following the publication of alarming NHS statistics which show that seven school children have tipped the scales at over 20 stone. The figures come from the National Child Measurement Programme, an England-wide initiative whereby schoolchildren are weighed and measured twice prior to reaching the age of 12.

The most overweight child in the country has been revealed to be an 11-year-old boy from Manchester, who at 4ft 4in was found to weigh a staggering 23 stone 11lb in 2011-2012, meaning the boy’s Body Mass Index (BMI) was 84.2.

To put this into perspective; this is approximately twice the weight of a healthy male who is 5ft 10in tall and you are in fact medically classified as obese with a BMI reading of between 30 and 35.

Anybody with a BMI of over 40 is deemed ‘morbidly obese’ and is 80 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than someone of a normal weight and you are also likely to lose 10 years off your lifespan.

However, prior to this discovery, a 10-year-old girl from Hounslow, West London, was one of many school children measured and weighed during 2006-2007 for the government’s yearly weigh-in of all year-six pupils. The girl was 4ft 10in tall and weighed in at 24 stone 5lb.

Between 2006 and 2012, there were a total of seven children who weight more than 127kg (20 stone). This included an 11-year-old girl from Bolton, Greater Manchester, whose weight was recorded at 22 stone 11lb during 2012-2012, giving her a BMI of 69. A few years before this in 2007-2008, a 10-year-old boy from Wandsworth, South-West London, weighed 21 stone 10lb and had a BMI of 79.

According to a study published in June conducted by Imperial College London, the number of children admitted to hospital due to obesity-related health problems has shot-up more than four-fold in the last decade, and it seems the problem could spiral out of control unless an urgent intervention is made. Asthma, diabetes and sleeping difficulties are all on the rise because of obesity.

Moreover, statistics from the National Child Measurement Programme show that around one in 10 children are obese when they begin primary school and a third are obese by the time they come to leave, and obesity rates for children in the UK are the highest in Western Europe. Also, it seems that rates are significantly higher in the more deprived communities around the country.

Professor Mitch Blair, of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, spoke to the Sunday Times and said: “Being severely overweight at such a young age has clear physical health implications including a higher risk of diabetes, heart disease and joint problems. In addition there can be serious psychological repercussions. Teenage years are tough enough without the extra burden of being obese.”

Tam Fry, spokesman for the National Obesity Forum, commented: “We have come to accept that 26 per cent of adults in the UK are obese. But we should be outraged that 20 per cent of children are too…We are waiting for children to get fat and then doing something about it. What we should be doing is monitoring them, so before they get fat we have already started to sort them out.”