The economics of obesity
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Reducing obesity is not just good for our health, it’s good for the economy too.
By Lydia Leon
Rates of obesity have nearly doubled in recent decades. In 2019 over 28% of UK adults and a quarter of children in year 6 were obese. Food-related ill health, including high BMI, is second only to smoking as a contributor to poor health outcomes in the UK.
This is strongly shaped by the food-environment. Inequalities in food-related illnesses are stark and widening: in the most deprived areas in England, prevalence of obesity is around 17 percentage points higher than in the least deprived.
Why does this matter?
Obesity increases the risk of many preventable diseases including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers. Additionally, obesity can reduce life expectancy, sometimes by up to nine years – an effect comparable to that of smoking.
But obesity is not just a health issue. A recent study by Frontier Economics has strengthened the case for tackling obesity by quantifyi...
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