Obesity epidemic in UK may be 'far worse than first thought'

The National Obesity Forum released a report saying that prior predictions of a 50per cent obese population by 2050 could be an underestimate.

16:58 13 January 2014

The national obesity problems appears to be bigger than first thought. A report has been released claiming that previous assessments of a 50per cent obese population by 2050 could be an underestimate.

Because of this report by the National Obesity Forum, the a group called State of the Nation’s Waistline is now calling for hard-hitting obesity campaign similar to those that are intended to convince people to stop smoking.

David Haslam, the forum's chair, said: "We're now seven years on from the Foresight report. Not only is the obesity situation in the UK not improving, but the doomsday scenario set out in that report might underestimate the true scale of the problem.”

Meanwhile, Health secretary Jeremy Hunt agrees with the report and calls for more concerted action. He said: "There is a lot more we can be doing by way of earlier intervention and to encourage members of the public to take sensible steps to help themselves – but this goes hand in hand with government leadership and ensuring responsible food and drink manufacturing and retailing."