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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Andrew Gregory Health editor

Obesity ‘epidemic’ leading to 1.2m deaths a year in Europe, says WHO

Sugary energy drinks
The report called for high-level political commitment to tackling obesity, alongside measures such as sugar taxes on sugary drinks and subsidies on healthy food. Photograph: Rene van den Berg/Alamy

Obesity has reached “epidemic proportions” in Europe, the World Health Organization says, as a major report shows the disease is causing 200,000 cancer cases and 1.2 million deaths a year.

In the first such study for 15 years, the WHO said overweight and obesity rates had hit deadly levels and were “still escalating”. No country in the region was on track to meet the WHO global noncommunicable disease (NCD) target of halting the rise of obesity by 2025, it said.

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