More people in the UK or overweight or obese than ever before – and one unhealthy town is showing the huge problems this can cause.
Costs relating to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancers caused by obesity are estimated to cost the NHS £6.5billion each year nationally, and the health issue thought to be responsible for more than 30,000 deaths each year.
Despite a number of schemes by successive governments to promote healthy lifestyles, the proportion of people who are obese – defined as having a body mass index of 30 or above – has nearly doubled in the last few decades, while numbers have also soared in children.
