WIREDGOV

The Local Government Association's Community Wellbeing spokeswoman, Cllr Izzi Seccombe, responds to new statistics out today from HSCIC on obesity, physical activity and diet.

"These are extremely worrying figures that illustrate the scale of the challenge we face in the fight against obesity. But the problem will only get worse unless we take urgent action, with the number of obese adults in the country forecast to soar by a staggering 73 per cent to 26 million people over the next 20 years

"The fact that the number of obesity-related hospital admissions for children has more than doubled since 2004/5 underlines why it is vital that the Government uses its forthcoming childhood obesity strategy to address what is now one of the major health dangers of the 21st century.

"Obesity leads to serious health conditions later on in life, such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes, and is costing the NHS around £5 billion a year.

"Councils have long been calling for action to tackle obesity, such as clearer labelling of sugar content, calorie counts on menus, and sugar reduction in soft drinks. We cannot delay tackling this issue any longer."

View report and related information:

http://www.hscic.gov.uk/searchcatalogue?productid=20797&q=title%3a%22Statistics+on+Obesity%2c+Physical+Activity+and+Diet%2c+England%22&sort=Relevance&size=10&page=1#top