About 170,000 people in England expected to die from obesity-linked heart conditions by 2035 | Obesity

Nearly 170,000 people are expected to die by 2035 from heart-related conditions linked to obesity, one of the leading causes of preventable disease, according to a leading charity.

Analysis carried out by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has found that as long as current trends in obesity rates continue, around 45 people a day are expected to die from cardiovascular disease linked to overweight and obesity in England over the next decade. Nearly two in three adults in the UK live with obesity, and globally more than half of adults and a third of children and young people will be overweight or obese by 2050.

The analysis, based on data from the Global Burden of Disease study, showed there were 16,156 cardiovascular disease deaths attributable to high BMI in England in 2023, a rate of 28 deaths per 100,000 people.

Obesity is a major risk factor for heart and circulatory diseases; Carrying excess weight can cause fat to build up in the arteries, restricting blood flow and increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Dr Charmaine Griffiths, chief executive of the BHF, said the UK was at risk of “sleepwalking towards an obesity epidemic with dire consequences for decades to come”.

“Obesity is one of the biggest drivers of cardiovascular disease, so if we don’t maintain this momentum, tens of thousands of families could needlessly lose loved ones over the next decade,” he said. “These deaths are not inevitable. Bold action now from the UK government could mean preventing more lives being cut short due to obesity.”

He added: “The government has promised a ‘healthy food revolution’ but it has not yet happened. These promises must become policy as soon as possible if we are to stop the heart attacks and strokes that are robbing thousands of people of the chance to live a long, healthy life.”

The analysis also found that around one in nine cardiovascular deaths each year in the UK is attributed to overweight and obesity, underlining the scale of the crisis. Although obesity is a nationwide problem, rates vary regionally. The north-east of England has the highest percentage of obese adults at a third (36%), followed by the West Midlands at 34%. London has the lowest obesity rate at one in five (21%).

Katharine Jenner, chief executive of the Obesity Health Alliance, said: “We cannot accept a future in which tens of thousands more lives are needlessly cut short by diet-related diseases. On the one-year anniversary of the announcement of healthy food standards, these stark predictions should serve as a reminder to the government of the urgent need to take action.”

“Strong targets for businesses to improve the healthfulness of the food they sell will help shift the balance towards healthier products and reduce diet-related diseases across the population,” he said. “This is about prevention, justice and giving every family a chance to live a longer, healthier life.”

He added: “These deaths are not inevitable, but time is running out to act. We call on the government to publish the consultation on mandatory health reporting and introduce legislation on healthy food standards in this parliament.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “Cardiovascular disease remains one of the country’s biggest killers and we know obesity plays a significant role in this.

“That’s why we’re tackling obesity by making weight-loss drugs available to more patients, requiring large businesses to report whether their food is healthy, and setting new targets to improve the healthfulness of the products sold.

“We help people stay healthy longer by improving heart disease prevention, speeding diagnosis and treatment, and identifying people most at risk earlier, so they get high-quality care wherever they live.”