The true cost of obesity

Obesity, and its impact on health, is rarely out of the headlines these days. But if you think it's something that only overweight people should be concerned about, think again - it's predicted that 50% of the UK population could be obese by 2050, with a cost just short of £50 billion a year.

Tam Fry, a trustee of the National Obesity Forum (NOF) and chairman of the Child Growth Foundation, thinks the prediction is "frightening - and the loss to the exchequer even more frightening."

It's the NHS which will feel the bulk of this bill.

Between 1993 and 2011, obesity rates rose from 13% to 24% in men, and from 16% to 26% for women, and 2011-2012 figures revealed that up to 20% of children are in the obese category. Figures are even higher for people in the 'overweight' range - 65% of men and 58% of women - and it's already costing the National Health Service more than £6 billion annually.

This is largely due to that fact that our rising weight's matched by stark rises in diseases (many of which are among the most common killers) like heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, including breast, bowel and kidney cancer.

Last summer, Lord McColl, former director of surgery at Guy's Hospital, warned parliament that not only is obesity "killing millions" but the epidemic's "bankrupting the NHS."

Fry and the NOF, an independent organisation of professionals from various fields, with the shared interest of tackling and treating obesity, think the figures alone should be enough to make people sit up and take notice.

On paper, obesity should be a simple problem to solve. As Fry points out: "The rise [in obesity] is happening because, principally, the food we're eating is less than healthy and we're not exercising to burn it off. If you eat well and exercise, you will more than likely maintain a healthy weight. But if you eat badly and don't exercise, the reverse will be the situation."

There you go - consume less, move more, epidemic over.

But in reality, it's not that simple. In fact, far from it - otherwise we wouldn't be in the situation we're in.

For people who are already overweight, often there are emotional and psychological challenges and barriers to overcome - just changing what you eat and how often you exercise can be a far more complex task than it sounds.

While personal motivation, and taking responsibility for one's own health and lifestyle is, of course, paramount, like all of society's 'big problems', tackling it effectively will require a degree of societal support too.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), individual responsibility works best when people have access to a healthy lifestyle and are supported to make healthy choices.

This means making exercise and eating well accessible and affordable to everybody - and communicating effectively to get the right messages across, helping remove the barriers that may prevent some people making 'sensible' choices.

In recent years, the government launched a 'call to action', urging food and drinks companies to 'reformulate' their products, reducing levels of fat, salt and sugar in them - but so far, bar a few exceptions, there hasn't been significant change, and Fry thinks guidelines like this need to be made law.

"The government needs to stop pussy-footing around," says Fry. "They've got to start saying, 'You will produce good food, and unless you produce good food we will come down on you like a ton of bricks' - and that means legislation.

"The whole premise behind the reformulation deal was that the industry would, of its own accord, reformulate products and help the government get rid of the [obesity] problem," he adds. "But, with very few exceptions, that's not happening and we are getting fatter and fatter, and if some stance is not taken - dramatically - now, then we're going to get in a stew.

"The prediction that 50% of the population was going to be obese by 2050 was made in 2007 and it was made quite apparent that we were sure to get to that unless action was taken. Five years down the line, that action still hasn't been taken."

Not everybody will agree that enforcing the food industry to change - and, in effect, taking away consumers' choice - is the way to go. But supporters of this school of thought will argue that the rise in calorie consumption is inherently linked to the rise in obesity and its health impact.

While it may sound patronising to some, often people are unaware that items they are feeding their children are packed with added sugars and salt.

Things become especially confusing when brands like Coca-Cola and McDonalds are sponsoring high-profile sporting events, which implies that, really, they can't be that unhealthy, surely?

"It took 50 years from the first scientific studies linking smoking to lung cancer before any effective public health interventions were implemented, because the Tobacco industry were able to implement a strategy of denial, planting doubt and confusing the public about the negative effects of their products," says Dr Aseem Malhotra, a respected cardiologist who works in bariatrics, who is supporting the NOF's National Obesity Awareness Week (January 13-19). "We see the food industry adopting similar strategies, such as junk food companies sponsoring sporting events and athlete endorsements of sugary drinks with advertising that targets the most vulnerable members of society, including children."

He points out that obesity represents "the greatest threat to health worldwide, with poor diet contributing to more disease than physical inactivity, smoking and alcohol combined."

The good news is that, if you are overweight or obese, it's never too late to address it and improve your health - an eight-year British study, led by Dr Mark Hamer at University College London and published in November, found that OAPs who exercised regularly could benefit from improved mental and physical health, even if they took up being active later in life.

Meanwhile, when it comes to tackling child obesity - and the longer-term problem as a whole - Fry believes the most important challenge is to prevent kids and young people from becoming overweight in the first place.

"The solution, in the long-term, is to get our children properly taught about healthy eating and exercise in their formative years, so that they get that message and keep that message throughout their life."

Worried your weight's endangering your health?

:: Speak to your GP. You may be eligible for an 'exercise referral' and they can advise you on support and information available in your local area.

:: Ditch the fad diet - in the long-term, they can be difficult to follow and set you up for failure. Experts advise following a sensible, balanced diet, with plenty of fruit and veg, but reducing your calorie intake, portion sizes, junk food and fizzy drinks - and don't give up if you don't see instant results or have a bad day.

:: Get moving - regular exercise is crucial, even if a short walk is all you can manage at first. Stick at it and the rewards will soon follow.

:: January 13-19 is National Obesity Awareness Week. For more information visit www.noaw2014.org.uk