Obesity rates have doubled in England since 1993 - what's going on?

If England's obesity rates were still the same as 1993 there would be seven million fewer adults living with obesity.

There are 14 million adults classified as obese, despite successive governments launching 14 separate obesity strategies over the past three decades.

It's clear something isn't working, so what's behind the increase?

And can anything be done about it?

According to new analysis by the King's Fund, 15% of England's adult population - those aged 16 and over - in 1993 was obese, with rates achieving a record high of 30% in 2024.

Their analysis suggests obesity rates are rising fastest in 16-to-24 year-olds, with 18% classified as obese or severely obese in 2024 compared with just 6% in 1993.

Accounting for population change, this means there are now one million young adults living with obesity in England - 700,000 more than if rates had not risen over the past three decades.

Dave Buck, senior fellow for public health at the King's Fund, called this rise "clearly worrying" and says governments have "talked the talk, but not sufficiently walked the walk" in addressing obesity rates.

"This analysis shows the scale of the failure to take the necessary action on tackling this obesity timebomb," he added.

There are several factors behind the rise in obesity, including changes in eating habits and food prices over the last 30 years.

Service industry - or "white collar" jobs - take a larger share of the economy and there has been a decline in traditional manufacturing and other "blue collar" work such as manual labour.

This means more people are in sedentary office jobs so spend more time sitting down than moving around.

Food prices have also fallen since the 1990s, partly because of increased competition between the major supermarkets alongside an increase in fast food outlets and home delivery.

Buck told the BBC that these changes mean it's "far easier to over-consume or consume in ways that add to our weight".

"With things like deliveries, it's very easy and convenient now to click a button and you get a takeaway at your door, so we're making it much easier to have high fat, high salt and high sugar foods."

Takeaways high in fats, salt and sugar are more widely available in areas of high deprivation where people are at higher risk of obesity.

Less healthy foods in supermarkets are also cheaper than they were three decades ago, while there have been several cost-of-living crises in recent years.

Obesity can be a risk factor for several chronic conditions including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis and some cancers.

Reports estimate, external obesity and being overweight costs the UK economy approximately £126bn per year, including £12bn to the NHS - roughly 7% of its annual budget.

Since 1992 - the year before data on obesity in England was first collected - 14 national obesity strategies have been published.

Campaigners argue progress has been too slow and calls for further intervention have increased in recent years.

Tony Blair's government introduced a ban on junk food advertising during children's TV programmes - although some campaigners were calling for a wider ban - while Gordon Brown launched a strategy aiming to reverse the "rising tide of obesity" after becoming prime minister in 2007.

The Conservative government introduced a UK-wide levy on high-sugar soft drinks in 2018, causing several manufacturers to cut sugar levels in their products so that they fell below the levy threshold.

During his final weeks in office in 2016, then-Prime Minister David Cameron considered banning "buy one get one free" deals for unhealthy products in supermarkets and restricting TV ads for junk food and other high sugar products.

Although both Theresa May and Boris Johnson argued at times for further action, Cameron's ideas were not followed up, partly due to the pandemic which delayed plans further, and afterwards when ministers argued restrictions on such deals would be unfair on shoppers due to surging inflation.

In January this year, the Labour government introduced a ban on junk food advertising before 21:00 on television and at any time online after almost a decade of consideration.

Further plans to crack down on the sale of unhealthy food items are still yet to come into effect despite being first pledged by Labour in 2024, while a recent select committee report urged ministers to do more like stopping fast food outlets opening close to schools.

Weight loss drugs such as GLP1s are increasingly being used to treat obesity, though only adults with a BMI of at least 35 and who have at least one pre-existing weight-related health condition qualify for Wegovy on the NHS.

People with cardiovascular disease who are classed as overweight, but not quite obese, can also be given the drug, while Mounjaro has been available from specialist NHS weight-loss clinics in England and Wales since March 2025.

Many people chose to buy these drugs privately.

A new daily pill is already available in the US and could soon launch in the UK.

The Department of Health and Social Care says weight loss jobs are only one part of a broader plan.

It says tackling the promotion of less healthy food and drink, increasing exercise and encouraging people to eat healthier options are all important for addressing obesity.

Earlier this year, England's Chief Medical Officer Prof Sir Chris Whitty said it would be a "societal failure" if medicating people for life was our only answer to obesity.

He says the lessons are there in other countries, such as France, which have kept obesity levels stable.

Now the question is what do we want to learn?