Obesity Profile

From Tuesday 3 June this profile will merge into a new profile called Obesity, Physical Activity and Nutrition.

Introduction

This profile presents the latest available data to help understand and monitor the patterns and trends in obesity at national, regional, and local levels in England.

Tackling obesity is one of the greatest long-term health challenges currently faced in England. Around two-thirds (63%) of adults are above a healthy weight, and of these half are living with obesity. In England 1 in 3 children leaving primary school are overweight or living with obesity with 1 in 5 living with obesity.

Obesity prevalence is highest among the most deprived groups in society. Children resident in the most deprived parts of the country are more than twice as likely to be living with obesity than those in the least deprived areas.

Obesity is associated with reduced life expectancy and a range of health conditions including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, liver and respiratory disease and cancer. Obesity can also have an impact on mental health.

Child measurement data for Scotland is available from Public Health Scotland, and for Wales from Public Health Wales. International data on adult and child obesity prevalence is published in the World Health Organization's Global Health Observatory.