The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) has released its latest statistics on obesity in England. They show that in 2014, 58% of women and 65% of men were overweight or obese. The prevalence of obesity increased from 15% in 1993 to 26% in 2014.
Children in the most deprived areas were twice as likely to be obese as children in least deprived areas. Overall, more than 1 in 5 children in Reception, and 1 in 3 children in Year 6 were measured as obese or overweight.
Morbid obesity, one of the conditions for which bariatric surgery may be considered, has tripled since 1993 from 1% to 3%. The figures show that 60% of bariatric surgery patients were aged between 35 and 54, and 76% were female.
The Local Government Association's Community Wellbeing spokeswoman, Cllr Izzi Seccombe, said the statistics were 'extremely worrying'. Urgent action was needed, 'with the number of obese adults in the country forecast to soar by a staggering 73 per cent to 26 million people over the next 20 years'.
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