Nutrition

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• Our power TODAY
• How and how it should be
• Childhood Overweight
• Obesity in Italy
• Obesity in England
• Diabesity
• The Metabolic Syndrome

OBESITY in England

Obesity in England is nearing epidemic proportions with one in five adults now dangerously overweight, costing the economy and NHS £2.6bn a year, the national audit office warns today. More than 31,000 people a year are dying prematurely - 6% of all deaths - because of a lifestyle of fatty diets, over-reliance on the car and energy-saving devices such as lifts and escalators. In a stark report sure to revive the spectre of the nanny state, the national audit office (NAO) warns that in 10 years obesity levels could reach those of the US, where a quarter of the population is obese, unless more action is taken by government, employers, the food industry and individuals. In addition to the 21% of women and 17% of men in England regarded as obese, another 32% of women and 46% of men are overweight. This means nearly six in 10 adults - more than 20m people - should change their lifestyles, say the report's authors.
England, where obesity levels have tripled in 20 years, already has one of the worst records in Europe. Studies have also shown alarming rises in children's weight. As many as one in 10 children aged four or under is obese, while one in four is overweight, research in the British Medical Journal revealed last week. Obesity is measured using body mass index (BMI), which is the person's weight in kilograms divided by their height in metres squared. A BMI of 20 to 25 is normal, 25 to 30 is overweight and more than 30 is obese. A man of about 5ft 10in weighing more than 15 stone or a woman of 5ft 6in and 13.5 stone would be regarded as obese.
Average television watching in England doubled from 13 hours a week to 26 over 30 years to the mid-1990s and a recent government-funded study of the diet of 4 to 18-year-olds revealed average consumption of fruit, vegetables and fruit juice was 188 grams a day, less than half the 400g recommended for adults.

Fat facts

Main findings
• Obesity in England has tripled since 1980
• 1 in 5 adults is now obese, by 2010 it could be 1 in 4
• Two-thirds of men and over half of women are either obese or overweight
• Obesity costs the NHS at least £500m a year and the economy another £2bn a year

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