The last few weeks brought to light two important research studies that cast a light on a serious problem experienced by the British population – the rapid increase in obesity. To some, excess weight might seem a matter of aesthetics – to many European countries, however, it's a serious disease that generates considerable costs. How many Britons suffer from obesity? Let's find out.

Children Obesity

When talking about obesity, we should start right at the beginning of this condition, which often takes place in childhood. Recently, a groups of scientists and policy experts called Action on Sugar has published a seven-point recommendations directed to Britain's Department of Health. While the advice is certainly worth our attention, it's the statistical data that accompanied the report that got me alarmed.

Action on Sugar claims that one in five 10-11 year old Britons suffers from obesity or is seriously overweight. That's a smashing 20% of our youth population! I can only imagine that these children will continue their disastrous eating habits well into their adulthood and when they'll have kids themselves. This vicious circle of bad nutrition needs to be broken by creation an appropriate food environment that promotes local, nutritious produce and bans ultra-processed foods and soft drink full of sugar.

Now, that kind of restrictive policy might seem overly harsh – why would we want to ban our children from sweets or an occasional hamburger with fries? The problem are not the foods themselves, but the way in which they're portrayed in the media, claims Action on Sugar group. It is quite remarkable that our sports events tend to be sponsored by brands that stand behind the food that has nothing to do with sportive and healthy lifestyle.

Good nutrition is key to the development of our kids. Professor Graham MacGregor, chairman of Action on Sugar, warns: “Obesity in children leads to the premature development of cardiovascular disease, stroke, heart attacks and heart failure, which are the commonest cause of death and disability in the UK.” Obesity promotes the development of Type II Diabetes, responsible for various health complications – from cardiovascular diseases and blindness to renal dialysis and amputation of the lower limbs. These problems are expensive to manage, and the ensuing costs will affect the NHS, especially if nothing is done to prevent the rapid increase of obesity in children.

UK's Obesity in Contrast

It might come as a shock, but one third of the world's population is obese and Britain is the leading country in Europe. According to the Global Burden of Disease study, published recently in the Lancet medical journal, 67% of men and 57% of women are either overweight or obese. But that's not all. The Lancet study also demonstrated that when it comes to obese women under 20 years of age, there are more of them in the UK than in any other country in Western Europe – the striking figure of 29.9% needs no further commentary.

What does that mean for the country? Additional costs of general healthcare – not only is the treatment obesity-related diseases long and expensive, but the situation can escalate to the point where hospitals need to buy new equipment in order to be able to treat those patients.

What is a possible way to address the problem of riding rate of obesity? Both Action on sugar WHO recommend education. Starting early on will help our population to make good nutrition choices in the future, and with accompanied targeted weight loss programs, the country might evade many additional costs and make sure that its citizens live long and healthy lives.