Thaindian News

London, Nov 26 (IANS) In very alarming statistics, it has been found that Brtish women are more obese, and at young age too - so fat that it threatens their health.

Experts are especially concerned by the young age at which so many women here are developing serious weight problems, said researcher Claire Bates, the Daily Mail reported.

A disturbing 16 per cent of young women aged 18-24 are obese - up to 16 times higher than many other European countries where the rate is between one per cent and three per cent.

Young men are doing better, around six per cent are obese, but a worrying one-third of men aged 45-64 are obese in Britain.

The deeply troubling figures are contained in a report from Eurostat, an European statistics agency, which compared obesity levels in 19 countries from year 2008 to 2009.

Only the US and Ireland, which are not included in the league table, have higher obesity rates in the developed world.

Neville Rigby, director of policy and public affairs at the International Obesity Forum, said Britain leads the field in obesity, but in almost all developed countries two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese.

“Levels of fatness are increasing all the time, they go from overweight to obesity and affect more than 60 per cent of adults in most countries,” he said.

Experts blame abundant energy-dense food, too little exercise and lack of will by policy makers to curb over-consumption. The Eurostat report links obesity with levels of education, saying that the better educated tend to be slimmer.

Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum campaign group, said education was key to fighting obesity.

“Until Britain puts domestic science properly back into the school curriculum, many women will continue to rely on cheap, ready meals and fast, processed foods for their families and themselves,” he said.

The National Audit Office estimates that obesity causes at least 30,000 deaths a year in the Britain, through conditions such as cancer, heart disease, strokes and diabetes.