Obesity in the United Kingdom

Obesity in the United Kingdom is a growing health concern with health officials stating that it is one of the leading causes of preventable deaths in the United Kingdom. According to Forbes, United Kingdom ranks 28 on a 2009 list of fattest countries.^[1]

Adult obesity rates have almost quadrupled in the last 25 years, with 22% of Britons now obese.^[2] Poor Britons are more likely to be obese than their wealthy fellow citizens.^[3] The South-East of England is considered to be the slimmest region in the United Kingdom with an obesity level of 18% which compared to Sweden’s fattest region has 16% of its population obese.^[4] Birmingham is considered the European Union’s fattest city. 29% of the adult population are classified as obese while the European average is 14%.^[4] A quarter of Birmingham's 11 and 12 year olds are considered obese.^[4]

The National Obesity Forum in 2011 cited Denmark's tax on foods containing more than 2.3% saturated fat as an example which must be followed.^[5]

Causes

An unhealthy diet has been cited as a cause of obesity in the United Kingdom.^[6] The main reasons for the unhealthy diet is from the amount of pre-prepared food the British people eat, the lack of fruit and vegetables in the British diet and binge drinking culture.^[6]

Effects

British sperm quality has been affected by obesity.^[7][8]

Statistics

Surveys

Annual survey, conducted by Men's Fitness magazine.

City	Obesity Rank 2006	Obesity Rank 2005
Bradford	1	4
Liverpool	2	3
Manchester	3	1
Newcastle	4	2
Glasgow	5	5
Birmingham	6	14
Wolverhampton	7	8
Sheffield	8	9
Stoke-on-Trent	9	6
Leeds	10	12
Edinburgh	11	10
Swansea	12	7
Coventry	13	16
Leicester	14	18
Plymouth	15	11
Derby	16	19
Nottingham	17	16
Cardiff	18	21
Bristol	19	15
London	20	22
Southampton	21	12

Within the European Union

The obesity rate of the United Kingdom's adult population is 22% while the average obesity rate in the European Union is 15.5%.^[6]

Country	Average weight	BMI	Daily Calorie Intake	Source
United Kingdom	12 st 9 lb	29	2,200	[6]
Italy	11 st 9 lb	26	2,100
France	10 st 9 lb	24	2,200
Germany	11 st 8 lb	26	2,400

See also

• Epidemiology of obesity

References

1. ^ Lauren Streib (February 8, 2007). Forbes "World's Fattest Countries". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/2007/02/07/worlds-fattest-countries-forbeslife-cx_ls_0208worldfat_2.html Forbes. Retrieved 2009-02-12. 
2. ^ BBC (February 1, 2006). BBC "UK's fattest cities are revealed". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4667826.stm BBC. Retrieved 2006-06-19. 
3. ^ Abdulrahman El-Sayed (2010-05-11). "Obesity: understanding the UK epidemic". London: BBC. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/may/11/obesity-epidemic-uk-poorest. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} "Birmingham is Obesity Capital of Europe". News West Midland. 15 December 2010. http://newswestmidlands.com/birmingham-is-obesity-capital-of-europe/521474/. Retrieved 27 December 2010. 
5. ^ Topping, Alexandra (2011-10-02). "Body blow for butter-loving Danes as fat tax kicks in". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/02/denmark-fat-tax-obesity. Retrieved October 05, 2011. "Danes who go shopping today will pay an extra 25p on a pack of butter and 8p on a packet of crisps, as the new tax on foods which contain more than 2.3% saturated fat comes into effect. [...] Tam Fry, spokesman for the National Obesity Forum, said: "It is not a question of whether we should follow the Danes' lead – we have to. If we don't do anything about it, by 2050, 70% of the British population will be obese or overweight and that would result not only in the downfall of the NHS but also of our national workforce."" 
6. ^ ^{a b c d} Freeman, Sarah (14 December 2010). "Obesity still eating away at health of the nation". Yorkshire Post. http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/features/Obesity-still-eating-away-at.6660925.jp. Retrieved 18 December 2010. 
7. ^ "Germans: UK sperm fails to satisfy". BBC. 4 March 1999. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/290736.stm. Retrieved 25 June 2010. 
8. ^ "Obesity tied to poorer sperm quality". Reuters. 17 February 2010. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61G55620100217. Retrieved 25 June 2010.