Do YOU live in Britain’s fattest town? Map reveals places with the highest obesity rates as ‘drastic measures needed’
A MAP has revealed England’s fattest towns with the highest obesity rates.
The latest statistics from the NHS have documented the percentage of people who are classed as obese and overweight by region.
Diabetes, heart disease, breathing issues, strokes and mental health problems are just some of the illnesses associated with being overweight.
In places with the highest rates of overweight people as many as 34 per cent of the population are classed as clinically obese, sobering figures show.
And in some areas, nearly 80 per cent of people are deemed overweight.
NHS boffins then ranked which areas had the highest percentage of adults who were obese and overweight.
County Durham has claimed the title of the fattest area in Britain, with a staggering 77.7 per cent of its population classified as overweight.
The area also has a concerning obesity rate of 34 per cent, highlighting a serious public health issue.
Not far behind is the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, near Merseyside, where 76.3 per cent are overweight and nearly 36 per cent of residents are obese,
This paints a worrying picture for the region, with a significant proportion of the population struggling with weight-related health problems.
Third place on the alarming list goes to the district of Cannock Chase, Staffordshire, where over 38.4 per cent of its 100,000 strong population are obese and 76 percent overweight.
Other areas facing similar challenges include Knowsley, with 73.9 per cent of residents being overweight, and Stoke-on-Trent, which isn’t far behind at 73.8 per cent.
Rotherham and Rochdale also make the list, with 73.7 per cent and 73.3 per cent of their populations classified as overweight, respectively.
Halton, with 72.7 per cent, and Blackpool, at 72.1 per cent, are further examples of areas where residents are battling increasing rates of obesity and being overweight.
These figures highlight the growing concern about the nation’s waistline, with more and more people at risk of serious health complications.
In terms of obesity rates, Wigan tops the list as the fattest area in Britain, with a staggering 39.1 per cent of its population considered obese.
Hot on Wigan’s heels is South Tyneside, where 38.8 per cent of residents are obese, closely followed by Stoke-on-Trent with 38.7 per cent.
These areas are grappling with an alarming rise in obesity, a condition that brings with it an increased risk of a range of serious health problems, from diabetes to heart disease.
Rotherham isn’t far behind, with 37.8 per cent of its population falling into the obese category, while Kingston upon Hull has 36.5 per cent of its residents classed as obese.
Gateshead and North Lincolnshire both have an obesity rate of 35.8 per cent, showing that the issue is widespread across the country.
The damning figures have led one health expert to call for “drastic measures” in order to halt the increase in obesity rates.
Professor Alex Miras thinks deprivation is “the strongest” factor in the equation but education also plays a part.
He told MailOnline: “If you want to improve and reverse the situation, then you need to have much more drastic measures in terms of reversing deprivation.
“This could mean improving access to healthier food, reducing the number of takeaways in the local area, increasing people’s physical activity, giving people more time to look after themselves.
“So it’s not easy.”
All the ways obesity can KILL you
Being overweight doesn’t automatically kill you.
But carrying excess fat is associated with lots of health problems.
Firstly, there’s heart disease.
Extra body fat can lead to high blood pressure and cholesterol, raising the chances of heart attacks.
Then we have type 2 diabetes.
Carrying excess weight makes your body resistant to insulin, resulting in high blood sugar levels and complications like kidney failure.
Obesity is also linked to 13 different cancers, which include:
- Adenocarcinoma of the esophagus
- Breast cancer in postmenopausal women
- Colon and rectum cancer
- Uterus cancer
- Gallbladder cancer
- Upper stomach cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Liver cancer
- Ovaries cancer
- Pancreas cancer
- Thyroid cancer
- Meningioma, a type of brain cancer
- Multiple myeloma
Sleep apnea, which disrupts breathing during sleep and can make people snore, is another risk.
Not being able to breathe properly can lead to a sudden drop in oxygen levels, which can be bad for the heart.
Being obese can also impact mental health, often leading to depression and anxiety due to stigma and discrimination.
It comes after official figures revealed that two thirds of adults in England are overweight or obese.
New NHS data revealed the number one hotspot for tubby adult Brits is Yorkshire and Humber.
Seven out of every ten (72 per cent) people living in the northern region are classified as overweight or obese – meaning their body mass index (BMI) is 25 or above.
Carrying a lot of extra weight or being obese can increase the risk for all sorts of health problems, from diabetes to different types of cancer.
The newly published data, for 2022, covers the period in which Britain was plunged into a cost-of-living crisis and emerged from a series of lockdowns.
Both situations, experts have warned, could trigger weight gain.
An interactive map reveals which areas have larger waistlines than others.
The data, based on the Health Survey for England, surveyed almost 8,000 adults aged 16 and over.
The stark new figures also revealed that with each passing decade, Brits were adding more ‘cushioning’ around their waistline.
It found that weight gain peaked – for both men and women – between the ages of 55 and 74.
What is a healthy BMI?
THE term obese describes someone who has excess body fat.
The most widely used method to check if you’re a healthy weight is body mass index (BMI).
For most adults, if your BMI is:
- Below 18.5 – you’re in the underweight range
- 18.5 to 24.9 – you’re in the healthy weight range
- 25 to 29.9 – you’re in the overweight range
- 30 to 39.9 – you’re in the obese range
- 40 or above – you’re in the severely obese range
The NHS uses a slightly different score for people with a South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black African or African-Caribbean family background:
- 23 to 27.4 – you’re in the overweight range
- 27.5 or above – you’re in the obese range
There are, however, limitations to the metric because it measures whether a person is carrying too much weight, not too much fat.
For example, people who are very muscular can have a high BMI without too much fat.
You can use the NHS BMI healthy weight calculator.