Obesity has become a serious problem in the UK only in the last decade or two. The number of obese people in the UK has drastically increased in the last few years, mainly as a result of the artificial and processed foods that are so commonly consumed by the majority of the people in the country, and the subsequent decline in home cooking. Those who eat these foods suffer from being overweight, diabetic, or from having one of any number of gastrointestinal diseases.
A 2011 report on obesity in the UK showed the results of recent studies in the last few years, and the statistics are an indication of the poor physical state of the country:
• Roughly one quarter of the adults in the UK were classified as being obese in 2009, which is having a body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or more. 22% of men and 24% of women in England fall into this category.
• 44% of men fell into the overweight category in 2009, meaning they had a body mass index of between 25 and 30 kg/m2. 33% of women also fell into the category, indicating that men in England are more likely to be overweight than women.
• In the years 2009 and 2010, 24.3% of the respondents in a British survey stated that they had participated in some form of sport on between 11 and 28 days during the previous four weeks.
• A 2008 study showed that, amongst adults older than 16 years, those most likely to have problems with blood pressure were those in the obese and overweight category. 46% of women and 48% of men considered obese were likely to have high blood pressure, while only 32% of overweight adults and 17% of adults considered in the “normal” weight category were likely to have problems with blood pressure.
• On the other hand, it appears that people are eating less trans fat, saturated fat, and fewer products with added sugar than they were in 1999 and 2000.