Daily Times

Obesity is now as big a threat to the UK as terrorism, Britain’s top doctor has suggested. Prof Dame Sally Davies, the Chief Medical Officer, will call on the Government to add the country’s spiralling obesity crisis to its official national risk planning for emergencies.

In England, 54 percent of women aged 34 to 44 and 62 percent of those aged 45 to 54 are now overweight or obese. The problem is even worse in men with 72 percent aged between 34 and 44 overweight or obese. Alarmingly, the proportion is 79 percent for men aged 45 to 55.

Being overweight or obese raises your risk of serious illnesses like Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer, and makes it more likely you will die prematurely. Obesity also costs the UK billions of pounds every year. Experts fear the problem could “bankrupt” the NHS.

Dame Sally will warn the escalating problem has now become so serious it should be included in national risk plans across Government to make tackling obesity in the whole population a national priority.

The latest edition of the Government’s National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies was published in March and includes potential deadly flu outbreaks and catastrophic terror attacks as well as extreme weather events and major accidents. Now Dame Sally wants obesity to be added to the list.

She will say, “Obesity has to be a national priority. Action is required across all of society to prevent obesity and its associated problems.”

Her report focuses mainly on what needs to be done to improve women’s health, but she accepts obesity is a major issue affecting both women and men.

Experts have welcomed her intervention. Professor Nick Finer, Honorary Professor, National Centre for Cardiovascular Prevention and Outcomes, UCL Institute of Cardiovascular Science, UCL, said her warning should be “applauded”.

He said, “Obesity and its related diseases is now the most pressing health issue to the nation affecting both men and women that some have predicted will lead to younger generations dying earlier than their parents. Estimates of the economic costs of obesity suggest they will bankrupt the NHS. Despite these risks we have seen inertia or refusal of government to implement measures from their own scientific advisors. Elevating the problem of obesity to a national risk could help to address the current laissez faire attitude to this huge angry growing health catastrophe.”

Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at Public Health England, said, “The evidence is clear – being obese before and during pregnancy has a knock on effect on your baby increasing their risk of obesity and life-threatening illnesses, such heart disease and type 2 diabetes, in later life. It’s vital that we manage our weight by cutting back on sugar, fat and calories in the diet, keeping an eye on portion sizes and being more active.”

In Dame Sally’s report on women’s health, she will highlight planning for pregnancy as a key missed opportunity to give women health messages to improve their mental and physical health and that of their children.

If a woman is obese, there is an increased chance of miscarriage and preterm delivery.

Elsewhere in the report, Sally encourages women not to suffer in silence about some of the more taboo problems they face, such as incontinence or the menopause, which they may find embarrassing to talk about.

Incontinence affects more than five million women in the UK and costs the NHS more than £200million a year in treatment and support.