‘The fat man of Europe’

UK doctors are calling for a 20 per cent increase in the price of fizzy drinks and regulations to limit the number of fast food outlets located close to schools in an effort to combat the “country’s spiralling obesity crisis”.

A new report by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges suggests one in four adults in England is obese. By 2050, these figures are expected to rise to 60 per cent of men, 50 per cent of women and 25 per cent of children. Consequences of obesity, including diabetes, heart disease and cancer, are estimated to cost the National Health Service £5.1bn (€5.9bn) a year.