'˜83 per cent of 40 to 60 year olds are obese', health research concludes

Public Health England is reaching out to people in the South East who are overweight or obese.
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PHE’s One You campaign has found that 83 per cent of 40 to 60 year olds (87 per cent of men and 79 per cent of women) are either overweight, obese, exceed the Chief Medical Officer’s (CMO) alcohol guidelines or are physically inactive.

Health research shows that in the South East 44,756 people were admitted to hospital for an issue relating to alcohol and more than 3,000 people die prematurely due to liver disease. Whilst smoking is decreasing nationally, almost one in six people in the South East still smokes.

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New data from the Health Survey for England 2015 also shows a worrying picture for the South East’s health in terms of adult weight with 66 per cent of adult men now classified as ‘overweight including obese’ and 25 per cent officially ‘obese’. Among women 57 per cent are ‘overweight including obese’ with 27 per cent meeting the ‘obese’ criteria.

Nationally obesity in adults has increased by 16 per cent in the last 20 years, with many adults unable to identify what a ‘healthy’ body looks like.

People in the South East are being urged to take a moment to consider their health and the simple steps they can take to improve it in the run up to the New Year, by taking the One You online quiz.

The quiz, called ‘How Are You’, takes your lifestyle information, gives you a health score and then links to free localised, personalised information, apps and tools.

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Dr Alison Barnett, deputy centre director for Public Health England South East, said: “We know people can be busy with work and family life and sometimes their own health can become the least of their priorities.

“The How Are You Quiz will help anyone who wants to take a few minutes to take stock and find out quickly where they can take a little action to make a big difference to their health.

“It is vitally important that we work to help people to eat better, be more active, stop smoking and consider their drinking. By working together we can improve the health of people across South East England.”

The diabetes rate among 40 to 60 year olds also doubled in the last 20 years in England. Obese adults are more than five times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than those who are a healthy weight (a body mass index between 18.5 and 25.4). Ninety per cent of adults with diabetes have Type 24.

Search ‘One You’ to take the ‘How Are You’ online health quiz.