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Obesity is continuing to rise in the UK despite efforts
to boost public health, as the problem is becoming
widespread in parts of southern England for the first
time.
A new 'fat map', produced by Dr Foster Research,
identifies rising levels of obesity in southern areas
including Cornwall, where almost 9% of the population
are obese, and Portsmouth, where 7.6% suffer from the
problem.
Northern areas continue to dominate the table, with
almost 11% of the population in Barnsley deemed obese,
while Shetland tops the rankings with 15.5% of its
people severely overweight. The fattest urban areas are
Wolverhampton and Stoke on Trent at 10%.
"We need to wait a few more years before we can say
definitely that things are getting worse but there does
seem to be a growing problem in some areas," Dr Foster
Research project manager Alex Young told The Guardian.
"We are seeing parts of the outlying regions being
affected rather than just urban areas. Urban areas might
be dealing with the problem more effectively but in the
outlying regions it seems to be getting worse ? places
like Newport, Plymouth, St Davids [and] Stockport."
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