|
|
|
|
Britons fattest in Europe, drink
more alcohol
1 November, 2007
Britons are the fattest in Europe;
they drink more alcohol, eat less
fruit and vegetables, and are more
likely to die from smoking than the
average across the 15 European
Union-member states.
In addition, despite falling rates in
teenage pregnancy, the United Kingdom
still has the highest proportion of
births to under-20s compared with
other western European countries.
These figures appear in the Health
Profile for England 2007, published by
the Department of Health on October
22, 2007.
The figures show that 1 in 4 adults is
obese and that the prevalence of
diabetes rose by a whopping 50%
between 1998 and 2003.
Britons drink more alcohol per person
than the European Union average. Binge
drinking is highest in the north-east
of Britain, involving 1 in 4 adults.
Again, there are 288 deaths per
100,000 people from smoking in the
United Kingdom, compared with the
European Union average of 263.
Regarding obesity, the figures for
children are seen as much more precise
than those for adults, as the figures
are based on hard data provided by
almost every school in the country,
while the adult figures are
extrapolated from sample surveys, the
report said.
The new report comes on the heels of a
major study into obesity sponsored by
the British government, which
predicted that the majority of Britons
would be obese by 2050.
Obesity is known to contribute to some
health problems, including Type 2
diabetes.
The overall rates for diabetes
increased from 5.8% of the population
to 8.4% between 1998 and 2004. There
are now 2.2 million people in the
United Kingdom living with diabetes.
Dawn Primarolo, Britain’s Public
Health Minister, responded to Health
Profile for England 2007, saying,
“While we have made good progress in
stopping people smoking, I am
determined to move further and faster
to respond to all these challenges –
with a cross-government drive to
tackle obesity, improve diet and
activity levels and promote safe and
sensible drinking. Our ambition is to
reverse the rising tide of obesity in
the population, by enabling everyone
to achieve and maintain a healthy
weight.”
However, life expectancy continued to
improve for everyone. While a baby
girl can now expect to live to 81.2, a
baby boy can expect to live to 76.9 –
nearly 2.5 years longer than a decade
before, according to Health Profile
for England 2007.
|
|
|
