Nearly seven in ten men are overweight or obese – up from 58 per cent in 1993, survey reveals

More than two-thirds of men are now overweight or obese, with men particularly prone to middle-aged spread.

A new public health survey for 2021, released yesterday, vividly illustrates England’s obesity epidemic.

While just 13 per cent of men were obese in 1993, when records began, now 25 per cent are obese.

The proportion of men who are either overweight or obese has gone from 58 per cent in 1993 to 69 per cent now, based on the survey results.

A major rise in obesity took place between between 1993 and 2001, but the rate has generally crept up gradually since (file image)

The comparisons must be treated with caution, as this is the first year, because of Covid, that people’s weight and height were reported over the phone, instead of measurements being taken by an interviewer in their home.

However the figures are similar to the results of recent years.

They show both pensioners aged 65 to 74, and middle-aged people aged 45 to 54 are most likely to have a weight problem, with 73 per cent of each group overweight or obese.

WHAT IS BMI?

BODY mass index (BMI) is the standard measure for obesity – a magic number worked out by dividing someone’s weight by their height.

A BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is classed as healthy, while a BMI of over 25 is overweight and a BMI of over 30 is obese.

But quick and easy as it may be, BMI is controversial.

That is because it doesn’t distinguish between weight from fat and muscle, so that athletes at peak physical fitness, like rugby players and sprinters, can be classed as overweight or obese because of their muscle mass.

BMI also doesn’t take into account where body fat is distributed. It is well known that ‘apple-shaped’ people with more fat stored around their abdomen have a greater risk of health problems like type 2 diabetes than ‘pear-shaped’ people with more fat stored on their hips and thighs – probably because fat in this area is less likely to reach their organs.

People with a normal BMI can still be at risk of health issues, if they have high blood pressure, for example.

And there is evidence from some studies that people can be ‘fat but fit’ – having a BMI which makes them obese but without suffering negative health consequences.

Many health experts argue BMI should be used alongside other factors, like whether someone smokes, their diet, exercise habits, diet, blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol, to really understand someone’s risk of illness.

Men continue to have a higher BMI than women on average, but people in general are piling on the pounds.

The average weight for men appears to have gone up by about a stone in a generation, from 78.9kg (12st 6lbs) in 1993 to 85.1kg (13st 6lbs) last year.

Women have seen an increase of 11 pounds, from an average of 66.6kg (10st 7lbs) in 1993 to 71.8kg (11st 4lbs) last year.

The major rise in obesity took place between between 1993 and 2001, but the rate has generally crept up gradually since.

The survey results, commissioned by NHS Digital based on interviews with 5,880 adults, show just over a quarter of adults in England overall – 26 per cent – were obese, with obesity increasing with age from eight per cent of adults aged 16 to 24 to almost a third of those aged 65 to 74.

The 69 per cent of men found to be overweight or obese in the Health Survey for England, 2021, is higher than the 59 per cent of women who fall into this bracket based on their BMI.

And middle-aged spread may be particularly common in men, based on the figures.

For people aged 45 to 54, 82 per cent of men were judged to be obese, compared to just 65 per cent of women.

Obesity and illnesses related to it cost the NHS an estimated £6.1 billion a year, and the survey found 11 per cent of people who reported a BMI which made them obese had diabetes, compared to only three per cent of those who were not overweight or obese.

Type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity, can lead to complications like heart disease, vision loss and kidney problems.

More than half of obese people – 51 per cent – had at least one longstanding illness, compared to only 36 per cent of people who were not overweight or obese, even after age was taken into account.

In general, the survey shows that people’s BMI increases as they get older, and is highest between the ages of 47 and 74.

The figures were adjusted to take into account that people tend to overestimate their height and underestimate their weight.

After this, it appears that a quarter of men, and 26 per cent of women are obese.

Around a fifth of people living in the most affluent areas of England were obese, compared to more than a third in the most deprived areas.

The survey also provides more evidence of the geographical divide, with 72 per cent of people in the North East of England overweight or obese, compared to only 61 per cent in London and 60 per cent in the South West.

The report also found that almost half of adults drank alcohol at least once a week, while 12 per cent were current cigarette smokers.

Men were not only more likely to be overweight than women, but more likely to drink alcohol and to do so above the recommended weekly amount.

Some 28 per cent of men said they normally consumed more than 14 units of alcohol a week, compared to just 15 per cent of women.

Responding to the statistics, Naveed Sattar, professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow, said: ‘These figures once again highlight the critical need to address the nation’s increasing waistlines, as the risk of not doing so will be more people living with multiple conditions linked to excess weight, leading to more suffering and even greater costs to the NHS.

‘However we need to get back to measuring people’s BMI directly rather than surveying this on the phone to really understand and address the changing rate of obesity in England.’

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