Obesity in the United Kingdom.....

Obesity rates in the United Kingdom are the highest in Europe and have risen sharply in recent years, so much so that more than 20% of the population is now obese and costs for the British economy exceed 3£ billion a year. In Birmingham, more than 25% of the population is obese, the third highest rate in the UK.

The high prevalence of adult obesity in England is alarming, with the national average of over 40% of overweight men and 20% obesity in the age group of 16-75 years, while women are on average lower for people with obesity, but higher for obesity.


Although obesity can be addressed by more physical exercise and better nutrition for the already obese, the health consequences are serious. On average, overweight reduces life expectancy by almost 10 years. In addition, it is associated with a dramatic increase in the risk of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease and hyperlipidemia. It was also suggested that in a near future, obesity will not only be the main reason of liver failure but also the leading cause of cancer worldwide. Additional research on these obesity-related diseases is crucial.

The causes of obesity are linked to a fundamental imbalance between energy intake and energy consumption. The World Health Organization has found that the reduction of physical activity coupled with increased consumption of high-energy foods and low-nutrients with high levels of sugar and saturated fat has led to a figure of obesity tripled since 1980 in some regions from North America, the United Kingdom, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, the Pacific Islands, Australia and China.


Although the importance of moving and a healthy diet is widely reported, more research is required into the types of exercise and nutrition types that are most effective in reducing obesity. In addition, many people do not change their lifestyle to fight overweight and therefore there is an urgent need for interventions that can successfully affect the determination and maintenance of physical activity and a healthy diet. the general and clinical population.

The community in which an individual lives is also important. Ethnic populations minority have the same prevalence of obesity in the general population, but these figures are based on body mass index (BMI) calculations. For a given BMI, Asians have a higher percentage of body fat in relation to other people and this contributes to a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. This underestimation of the problem of obesity in some populations needs to be further investigated, raising the target group in the need for intervention and increasing our understanding of the mechanisms that contribute to the adverse effects of obesity on specific populations.

Finally, we know that obesity is a specific problem in children. An overview of primary school obesity (ie 5 years) in Birmingham and West Midlands in 2006 showed an average of over 12% overweight and 10% obesity. Children with obesity and overweight levels in Birmingham when they leave primary school (11 years) show that on average 40% of overweight or obese children, up to 60% in Edgbaston's suburbs.

This is a particularly worrying trend when childhood obesity continues to adulthood with all the associated risks. It is predicted that this will be the first generation of children who are likely to die before their parents due to the effects of cardiovascular disease caused by obesity. Therefore, there is more research urging our understanding of why children today are faced with an obesity epidemic and, more importantly, what can be done to stop it to improve.


The need to understand our causes of obesity and the establishment of meaningful and effective treatments is clear and urgent. In the West Midlands region, over one million adults suffer from obesity and the economic and health consequences of this phenomenon can not be underestimated.