This site is intended for health professionals only


More than one in four UK adults are obese, health survey finds

More than one in four UK adults are obese, health survey finds

A quarter (26%) of adults in England were obese in 2021, with rates higher among men, older people, and those in more deprived areas, a report from the Health Survey for England has shown.

The survey of 5,880 adults was conducted via telephone interviews, due to the Covid-19 pandemic,  for most of 2021 about a variety of topics including cigarette smoking, e-cigarette use and alcohol consumption.

The Health Survey for England report, published today by NHS Digital, showed that obesity rates increased with age, with just 8% of adults aged 16-24 being classed as obese, compared to 32% of those aged 65-74.

The prevalence of obesity was highest among adults living in the most deprived areas, at 34%, compared to 20% in the least deprived areas, and a higher proportion of men were either overweight or obese (69%) compared to 59% of women.

Among adults who were obese, 11% reported that they had received a diagnosis of diabetes from a doctor, compared to 5% of adults who were classed as overweight and 3% of those who were neither overweight or obese.More

The Health Survey for England report also found that 12% of adults in England smoked, with more men (13%) than women (10%) reporting that they currently smoked.

Of these current smokers, 16% also currently used e-cigarettes as did 13% of ex-regular smokers.

Two-thirds of adults (66%) had never regularly smoked, and only 1% of those who had never smoked cigarettes currently used e-cigarettes.

The survey also asked participants about their alcohol consumption – 79% of participants reported that they had drunk alcohol in the last 12 months, while 49% reported that they drank alcohol at least once a week.

The report also found that men were more likely than women to drink at increasing or higher risk levels, with 28% of men compared to 15% of women saying that they usually drank more than 14 units of alcohol a week.

A version of this story first appeared in The Pharmacist 

See how our symptom tool can help you make better sense of patient presentations
Click here to search a symptom