UK is the FATTEST country in Europe with one in three adults expected to be obese by 2030, think thank claims
One in four adults are currently clinically obese but this number is expected to balloon over the next 13 years
ONE in three UK adults will be obese in 2030 as the country becomes the fattest in Europe.
A Paris-based think tank claims only the US and Mexico will have bigger waistbands over the next decade or so.
Around one in four adults here are currently clinically obese.
But this will balloon over the next 13 years, potentially overtaking Hungary as the porkiest in Europe.
In the US, obesity levels will soar to almost one in two.
Campaigners yesterday said the figures from the OECD economic organisation reflected chronic government failings to tackle the crisis.
PM Theresa May pressed ahead with a soft drinks tax last year but angered campaigners by dropping a ban on junk food TV ads.
Tam Fry, chair of the National Obesity Forum, said of the forecast: “This comes as no surprise whatsoever.
“When you consider that the government headed by David Cameron did little of note to reduce the UK’s obesity epidemic, and Theresa May’s plan to beat childhood obesity may do even less, the report makes a nonsense of Whitehall’s long-held ambition for the UK to be the first major nation to reverse the rising tide of obesity by 2020.
“If England is only 35 per cent obese by 2030, we’ll be very lucky.”
Sports drinks like Lucozade, Powerade and Gatorade 'are NO better than water' (and could make you FAT)
SPORTS drinks used to boost hydration and performance during exercise are no better than water, a study found.
SPORTS drinks used to boost hydration and performance during exercise are no better than water, a study found.
Experts say the drinks – such as Lucozade, Powerade and Gatorade – will not give most people an edge over their rivals.
And some users risk putting on weight because the sugar-laden fluids contain more calories than they burn while downing them.
Researchers conducted experiments on 19 competitive swimmers aged 11 to 17 during twelve 75-minute training sessions.
The non-elite volunteers were given water during three sessions, sports drinks in three sessions and no drink for six sessions.
They received the drinks in no specific order, were blinded to which they were drinking, and could drink as much as they wanted.
At the end of each session, the swimmers completed ten 100metre sprints at 3-minute intervals.
Electronic timing equipment recorded the times for the middle 50m of each dash.
Sprint times were 0.027 seconds faster after not drinking than drinking. And times were 0.151 seconds faster after drinking water than after sports drink.
But these differences were too small to be statistically significant, meaning there was effectively no difference between all three regimes.
Study leader Graham Briars, from Norwich University Hospital, said the experiments used one brand of sports drink that is available on the High Street but refused to identify it.
He added: “People see their favourite footballers and athletes drinking sports drinks on TV and go out and buy them themselves.
“They think it will keep them better hydrated and boost their performance but we found that is not the case in non-elite swimmers.
“We imagine that will be the same across other sports – and for all leading brands of sports drinks.
“The truth is, a sports drink is not going to make the difference between gold or silver, or give you an extra yard or second.
“Some people may even find they consume more calories from their sugar-sweetened beverage than they burn while exercising.”
The findings will be presented at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Annual Conference in Birmingham.
- By Shaun Wooller
The OECD said the figures suggested obesity had been growing faster among men.
And low-income workers were more likely to be overweight.
A spokesman said: “Obesity has risen fast in England since the 1990s. By 2030, only the US and Mexico would have worse rates.”