Britain’s growing obesity crisis is draining more than £100bn from the economy each year and placing unprecedented strain on the NHS, new research has revealed.
More than a quarter of adults are now classed as obese – double the proportion recorded in the 1990s – with overall levels of excess weight now surpassing many European nations.
Analysts warn that, without urgent action, the number of overweight or obese adults could climb to 43 million by the middle of the century, while childhood obesity is projected to increase by half.
The consequences are already being felt in the workplace and the health system.
Economists at Frontier Economics, working with the social think tank Nesta, estimate that around 266,000 jobs are lost annually through obesity-related illness, early death, and unemployment, costing the economy £24bn in productivity alone.
The combined financial impact, including welfare and care services, is thought to reach £126bn – a figure that could rise to £150bn within the next decade.
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NHS budgets are being hit particularly hard. Obesity is now linked to soaring rates of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer, with more than 1.2 million hospital admissions in 2023 tied to weight-related illness.
Current spending on obesity care is calculated at £11.4bn annually, nearly double government estimates from just two years ago.
Experts believe new weight-loss drugs could help ease the burden. Around 1.5 million people are already thought to be using the jabs, which NHS medical director Prof Sir Stephen Powis has suggested could soon rank among the most commonly prescribed medicines.
The NHS plans to offer them to 220,000 eligible patients over the next three years, but Nesta argues expanding this by a further 150,000 people could save £1.4bn in costs each year, even after accounting for the £500m price tag.
While speaking to Independent newspapers, Nesta’s director of healthy life, Hugo Harper averred the country could not afford to delay, noting that “Obesity is at the root of many of the UK’s health problems, including increasing the risk of cancer and diabetes, while costing our economy billions in lost productivity and NHS spending. This is only going to get worse without intervention, as obesity rates are set to rise.”
The crisis also mirrors wider social inequalities. Obesity rates are significantly higher among people in deprived areas, those with disabilities, and groups with fewer educational qualifications.
Children in poorer communities are more than twice as likely to be obese compared with those from wealthier households, while access to healthier food and fitness opportunities remains limited.
Campaigners have urged ministers to pair medical solutions with stronger policies on food retail and advertising.
Suggestions include restrictions on price promotions for products high in fat, salt, and sugar, and tighter rules on supermarket checkouts.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the government was determined to make modern treatments available to all who need them, not just those able to pay privately.
The move, they said, was part of a wider strategy to shift the health service from “sickness to prevention”.
