1.3 The future impact of overweight and obesity in the UK

Overweight and obesity prevalence of adults in the UK is high and increasing. Harms caused to health from obesity are shown in Figure 2. In 2023-2024, 65% of adults aged 18 years and over in England were estimated to be overweight or living with obesity with one in four adults being obese.

The risk of disease and incapacity rises through the ‘overweight’ range (BMI 25-29.9) and increases further with obesity:

Facts and figures

• In adults, obesity increases the likelihood of  type 2 diabetes by up to 80 times compared to the non-obese 
• Diabetes predisposes to hypertension and coronary heart disease (CHD) as well other conditions
• Obesity increases the risk of coronary heart disease  2–3 fold
• Waist:hip ratio is a strong independent risk factor  for CHD, confirming the key role of overweight and obesity
• Mortality from cancer among non-smoking obese people is 40% higher compared to non-obese people
• Prevalence of overweight and obesity are highest  in the most deprived areas, double that in the least deprived areas 
• Obese children are more likely to become obese  adults but interventions in children may benefit the whole family.

People are often unaware of how much weight needs to be lost in order to gain benefits to their health and sometimes imagine that only huge weight loss can make a difference. Table 2 summarises the benefits of 5-10kg weight loss in people with obesity.

People who have a lot of weight to lose need short-term achievable targets with the health benefits emphasised as they are often bombarded with information about health risks.