Grim forecast of 26 million obese by 2030

Abundant rich food, too little exercise, and lack of will on the part of policymakers could swell the number of obese Britons to a staggering 26 million by 2030, according to the latest forecast.
By The Newsroom
Published 26th Aug 2011, 07:00 BST

If current trends continue, the size of the clinically obese population in the UK will increase by 11 million over the next two decades, experts predict.

The resulting extra cost burden on health services would be £2 billion per year. This represents an overall increase in health spending of 2 per cent.

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In the worst case scenario, almost half of adult men in the UK could be obese by 2030. Obesity prevalence among UK men is forecast to rise from 26 per cent to between 41 and 48 per cent.

The proportion of obese women is predicted to increase from 26 per cent to 35 to 43 per cent.

In the US, continuation of current trends is expected to see 65 million additional obese adults by 2030, raising the total to 164 million. Health spending in the US would increase by $66 billion (£40 billion), or 2.6 per cent.

The figures, published in The Lancet medical journal, were produced by an international team including leading British epidemiologist Professor Klim McPherson, from Oxford University.