The proportion of adults living with obesity in England has doubled over the past three decades, according to new analysis from the King’s Fund, with roughly 14 million adults now classified as obese. In 1993, 15% of people aged 16 and over were obese; by 2024, that figure had reached a record high of 30%. The analysis suggests that if obesity levels had remained at their 1993 rates, around seven million fewer adults in England would be living with the condition today.
The sharpest rise has been among younger adults. In 2024, 18% of 16-to-24-year-olds were classified as obese or severely obese, compared with just 6% in 1993. Accounting for population change, that means roughly one million young adults in England are now living with obesity — about 700,000 more than would have been the case had rates stayed unchanged over the past 30 years. Dave Buck, senior fellow for public health at the King’s Fund, called the rise “clearly worrying” and said governments had “talked the talk, but not sufficiently walked the walk” on obesity. “This analysis shows the scale of the failure to take the necessary action on tackling this obesity timebomb,” he added.
Several factors have driven the increase. Since the 1990s, the economy has shifted away from manufacturing and manual labour towards more sedentary service-industry and office-based jobs, meaning people spend more time sitting than moving around. Food prices have also fallen over the same period, partly due to competition between major supermarkets and the growth of fast-food outlets and home delivery. Buck told the BBC that these changes make it “far easier to over-consume or consume in ways that add to our weight,” noting that with delivery apps it is now very easy to have high-fat, high-salt and high-sugar food brought to the door. Takeaways high in these ingredients are also more widely available in deprived areas, where the risk of obesity is higher.
Obesity is a risk factor for chronic conditions including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis and some cancers. Reports estimate that obesity and being overweight cost the UK economy about £126bn per year, including £12bn to the NHS — roughly 7% of its annual budget. Despite successive governments publishing 14 separate national obesity strategies since 1992, campaigners argue progress has been too slow. Previous measures include a ban on junk-food advertising during children’s television programmes, a 2018 UK-wide levy on high-sugar soft drinks that prompted reformulation, and a ban introduced in January this year on junk-food adverts before 21:00 on television and at any time online, after almost a decade of consideration. Plans to further restrict unhealthy food sales remain pending, and a recent select committee report urged ministers to consider measures such as preventing fast-food outlets from opening near schools.
Weight-loss drugs are increasingly being used to treat obesity, though access on the NHS is limited. Wegovy is available only to adults with a BMI of at least 35 and at least one weight-related health condition, while Mounjaro has been available from specialist NHS weight-loss clinics in England and Wales since March 2025. Many people also buy these drugs privately, and a new Wegovy pill is now sold privately at High Street and online pharmacies, though it is not yet on the NHS. The Department of Health and Social Care says weight-loss jabs are just one part of a broader plan that includes tackling junk-food promotion, encouraging exercise and healthier eating. England’s Chief Medical Officer, Prof Sir Chris Whitty, has warned it would be a “societal failure” if medicating people for life were the only answer to obesity, pointing to countries such as France where obesity levels have remained stable.