Obesity in the United Kingdom
[6][7] Combining three years of data (2012, 2013, and 2014) Public Health England identified Barnsley, South Yorkshire as the local authority with the highest incidence of adult obesity (BMI greater than 30) with 35.1%.
Data from the same study revealed that Doncaster, South Yorkshire was the local authority with the highest overall excess weight with 74.8% of adults (16 years and over) with a BMI greater than 25.
At an individual level, a combination of excessive food energy intake and a lack of physical activity is thought to explain most cases of obesity.
Reduced levels of physical activity due to increased use of private cars, desk bound employment, a decline in home cooking skills and the ready availability of processed foods high in sugar, salt and saturated fats, are variously cited as contributing factors.
[10][11] Media attention given to celebrity British chefs such as Gordon Ramsay, Heston Blumenthal, Marco Pierre White and many others with television shows and books encouraging home produced meals may have had a limited short-term impact on the growth of fast food chains such as McDonald's and Burger King.
[citation needed][12] Other fast food outlets, high street bakeries,[13] and chain coffee shops offering hot drinks with sugar levels over three times the daily recommended limit[14] have nonetheless continued to rapidly expand.
[17] Professor Jimmy Bell, an obesity specialist at Imperial College London, has stated that contrary to popular belief, the people of the United Kingdom have not become greedier or less active in recent years.
"[18] Being overweight or obese increases the risk of illnesses, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, as well as some forms of cancer.
[27] Various groups including government, food and health care professionals have made attempts to highlight and address the causes and growing problem of obesity in the United Kingdom.
[28] The British Government and Prime Minister Tony Blair promised to take steps to improve school dinners shortly after the programme aired.
Research by the group has highlighted the amount of added sugar contained in both processed food as well as drinks sold by national retailers such as Starbucks and Costa Coffee.
[37] In October 2011, British Prime Minister David Cameron told reporters that his government might consider a Fat tax as part of the solution to the United Kingdom's obesity problem.
[38] A Public Health Responsibility Deal was subsequently announced in 2012 with voluntary pledges from the food industry and local business to promote healthy eating and physical activity.
[citation needed] The government made efforts to use the London 2012 Summer Olympics to help tackle obesity and inspire people into a healthy active lifestyle.
[43] In the 2016 United Kingdom budget, the British Government announced the introduction of a sugar tax on the soft drinks industry, which came into effect in April 2018.
The measure would generate an estimated £520 million a year in additional tax revenue to be spent on doubling existing funding for sport in UK primary schools.
[49] Statistics highlighted that lower income areas of London exhibit higher rates of childhood obesity compared with other parts of the UK.
According to 2015 research data from the Health Survey for England, the proportion of children classified as overweight and obese was inversely related to household income.
[56] A 2023 survey looking at the healthiest and least healthy areas of the UK noted the following overweight/ obesity figures; In contrast, Richmond upon Thames had the lowest recorded rate of 45.5%.
[72] According to the Global Burden of Disease Study published in 2013, the United Kingdom had proportionately more obese and overweight adults than anywhere in western Europe with the exception of Iceland and Malta.
[75] In 2016 according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development nearly 27% of adults in the United Kingdom were obese, the highest proportion in Western Europe and a 92% increase since 1996.
