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Tackling Obesity in England

• report ( 870 Kb)
• executive summary (150 Kb)

The prevalence of obesity in England has tripled over the last 20 years and continues to rise. Most adults in England are now overweight, and one in five is obese. Our report produced the first authoritative estimates of the costs and consequences of obesity in England.

We estimated that, in 1998, obesity accounted for:

• 18 million days of sickness absence
• 30,000 premature deaths

On average, each person whose death could be attributed to obesity lost nine years of life.

Our conservative estimate is that treating obesity cost the NHS at least £½ billion in1998. The wider costs to the economy in lower productivity and lost output could be a further £2 billion each year.

Our research identified wide variation in the way general practices manage overweight and obese patients, and uncertainty about which treatment and referral options are the most effective. We recommended that the Department of Health lead work to clarify the responsibilities of primary care teams for identifying people at risk from excess weight, and to develop and disseminate guidelines on effective treatment programmes.

We found substantial evidence of cross-Government work in the areas of physical activity and diet, which are central to preventing obesity. Our report contains examples of innovative schemes to create opportunities and incentives for people to take more exercise and eat a healthier diet, many of them targeted at school children. We concluded that Government departments need to build further on successful joint working to date, involving other national and local partners to develop and implement cohesive approaches to prevent more people from becoming obese. Key recommendations were that:

• a high priority should be given to implementing the nutrition initiatives included in the NHS Plan, in particular work with the food industry to improve the balance of diet;
• the Department of Health should lead the development of a cross-Government strategy to promote the health benefits of physical activity through sport and active forms of travel, such as walking and cycling;
• the Department for Education and Employment should reinforce the importance of physical activity in schools; and
• there should be better guidance to schools to help them weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of participating in commercial sponsorship schemes that might promote behaviours contrary to key messages on healthy eating.

For further information contact Rob Prideaux on 020 7798 7744 or email him through our enquiries desk, please mark your email for his attention.

Experts Consulted

Department of Health

International and UK Association for the Study of Obesity

Producers of anti-obesity drugs

Consumer groups relating to diet

NHS Executive

Health Authorities

NHS Trusts

GPs

Practice Nurses

British Dietetic Association

British Medical Association

British Obesity Surgery Society

Centre for Obesity Research (Luton and Dunstable Hospital)

Child Growth Foundation

Organisations representing obese people, such as Eurobesitas and The Obesity Awareness and Solutions Trust

Representatives of the food industry

International and UK Association for the Study of Obesity

Consumer groups relating to diet and healthy travel

National Heart Forum

The Royal Colleges (of GPs, Nursing, Physicians, Surgeons)

Slimming Magazine Clubs

International Obesity Task Force

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