Obesity prevalence in England 2000-2022, by gender

The prevalence of obesity among adults in England has been generally been trending upwards since 2000. In that year, 21 percent of men and women in England were classified as obese. However, by 2022 this share was 30 percent among women and 28 percent among men. 

Obesity causing strain on health service

As the prevalence of obesity is increasing in England, the number of hospital admissions as a result of obesity has also increased. In the period 2019/20, around eight thousand women and nearly 2.7 thousand men were admitted to hospital. A huge rise from the admission levels fifteen years previously. The highest number of admissions due to obesity were found in the age group 45 to 54 years, with over 3.1 thousand admissions in that age group.

Situation in Scotland

In Scotland in 2022, the mean Body Mass Index of women was 28.1 and for men it was 27.9. A BMI of over 25 is classed as overweight. While the prevalence of obesity or morbid obesity in Scotland in 2020 was 30 percent among women and 26 percent among men.