Obesity is a greater burden on the UK’s economy than armed violence, war and terrorism, costing the country nearly £47bn a year, a report has found.
The study, commissioned by consultancy firm McKinsey and Company, reveals obesity has the second-largest economic impact on the UK behind smoking, generating an annual loss equivalent to 3% of GDP.
More than 2.1 billion people around the world – or nearly 30% of the global population – are overweight or obese, with the figure set to rise to almost half of the world’s adult population by 2030, according to the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), which produced the report.
It has called for a co-ordinated response from governments, retailers, restaurants and food and drink manufacturers to address what it calls the “global obesity crisis”.
A series of 44 interventions could bring 20% of overweight or obese people in UK back to normal weight within five to 10 years, the report says.
This would save around £16bn a year in the UK, including an annual saving of about £766m in the NHS, according to the study.
The report says: “Obesity is a major global economic problem caused by a multitude of factors. Today obesity is jostling with armed conflict and smoking in terms of having the greatest human-generated global economic impact.
