About 170,000 people are expected to die from heart-related conditions linked to obesity – one of the leading causes of preventable illnesses – by 2035, according to a leading charity.
The analysis, conducted by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), found that about 45 people a day are expected to die from cardiovascular disease linked to excess weight and obesity in England over the next decade, as long as current trends in obesity rates continue. In the UK, about two in three adults are living with obesity, and worldwide, more than half of adults and a third of children and young people will be overweight or obese by 2050.
Based on data from the Global Burden of Disease study, the analysis indicated that there were 16,156 cardiovascular disease deaths attributable to high BMI in England in 2023, at a rate of 28 deaths for every 100,000 people.
Obesity is a significant risk factor for heart and circulatory diseases, as carrying excess weight can lead to fatty buildup in the arteries, restricting blood flow and increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Dr Charmaine Griffiths, the chief executive of the BHF, said the UK is at risk “of sleepwalking further into an obesity epidemic which will have dire consequences for decades to come”.
“Obesity is one of the biggest drivers of cardiovascular disease, so if we don’t keep momentum, there could be tens of thousands of families who will lose loved ones needlessly over the next decade,” she said. “These deaths are not inevitable. Bold action now by the UK government could mean preventing more lives being cut short by obesity.”
She added: “The government has promised a ‘healthy food revolution’, but it’s yet to materialise. Pledges must become policy sooner rather than later if we’re to stop heart attacks and strokes robbing thousands of the chance to live a long, healthy life.”
The analysis also found that about one in nine cardiovascular deaths in England are attributed to excess weight and obesity every year, underlining the scale of the crisis. And although obesity is an issue countrywide, rates vary regionally. The north-east of England has the highest percentage of obese adults, at over a third (36%), followed by the West Midlands, at 34%. London has the lowest obesity rate, at just over a fifth (21%).
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Katharine Jenner, the executive director of the Obesity Health Alliance, said: “We cannot accept a future where tens of thousands more lives are cut short, unnecessarily, by diet-related disease. On the one-year anniversary of the healthy food standards being announced, these stark projections should serve as a reminder to the government of the urgent need to act.
“Strong targets for businesses to improve the healthiness of the food they sell would help shift the balance towards healthier products and reduce diet‑related disease across the population,” she said. “This is about prevention, fairness and giving every family a better chance of living a long and healthy life.”
She added: “These deaths are not inevitable, but time is running out to act. We urge the government to publish the consultation on mandatory health reporting and introduce legislation for the healthy food standards within this parliament.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Cardiovascular disease remains one of the country’s biggest killers, and we know obesity has a major part to play in this.
“That’s why we are tackling obesity by rolling out weight loss drugs to more patients, requiring large businesses to report on the healthiness of their food, and setting new targets to improve the healthiness of products sold.
“We are helping people stay healthier for longer by improving prevention, speeding up diagnosis and treatment of heart disease and identifying those most at risk earlier, so they get high-quality care wherever they live.”
