besity is an increasing concern in the UK, with the latest figures showing that a quarter of the English population are obese.
Across England, some 64.8 per cent of people are of excess weight – comprised of 40.4 per cent of people who are overweight and a further 24.4 per cent who are obese.
Between January 2013 and January 2016, the fattest areas in England were Rotherham, Doncaster and Halton, where three in four people were overweight or obese.
In Rotherham – the area with the most people of excess weight in England – some 43.5 per cent of people were overweight, while 32.6 per cent were obese.
Being of excess weight is defined as having a BMI of greater than or equal to 25kg/m2. Obesity is defined as over 30kg/m2.
At the other end of the scale, urban areas in the south of England have much lower levels of obesity.
Cambridge, and the London boroughs of Camden and Kensington and Chelsea, have the smallest shares of people of excess weight in the country.
How does your area rank for obesity?
By typing in your postcode below, you can find out the levels of obesity, overweight people and those of healthy weight in your area.
What is England’s most obese region?
England’s most obese region is the North East, which has an obesity rate of 27.1 per cent and a further 41.5 per cent of its people overweight.
The surrounding areas of Yorkshire and the Humber and the East Midlands are also fatter than average, with 26.7 per cent of people in Yorkshire and the Humber being obese.
London has the lowest levels of obesity in the country, with just a fifth of its people rated as obese. Just 38.5 per cent of Londoners were classed as overweight.
Compared to other parts of the UK, England has less of an obesity issue than Scotland. The NHS said that, as of 2013, 27 per cent of Scottish adults were obese, while in Wales, the obesity rate was 22 per cent.
