Soaring obesity levels mean one in 10 deaths in England and Wales is now caused by excess weight, the chief medical officer has warned.
Professor Dame Sally Davies, the Chief Medical Officer for England, said that a ‘normalisation’ of being overweight meant many people did not recognise that they weighed too much, and that the extra pounds could shorten their life.
Davies has highlighted research which shows that about 10% of deaths in England and Wales are the result of excess weight. The study. by the University of Cambridge, suggests that next year between 40,000 and 53,000 deaths in England and Wales will be attributable to extra pounds, including more than three quarters of diabetic deaths and one quarter of deaths from heart disease.
Dame Sally is concerned about the spiralling levels of obesity, with two thirds of the nation now categorised as overweight or obese, meant that many such people were blind to obesity and to the associated risks.
In the past two decades, the number of obese adults has almost doubled, from 13.2% among men in 1993 to 24.4% now, while among women it has risen from 16.4% to 25.1%.