Obesity rates in England have doubled in 30 years despite repeated government action

Obesity rates among adults in England have more than doubled over the past three decades, despite successive governments introducing repeated strategies and hundreds of individual policies intended to tackle the problem.

The latest Health Survey for England shows that 30% of adults aged 16 and over were living with obesity in 2024, while 66% were either overweight or living with obesity. By comparison, parliamentary data shows that 14.9% of adults in England were living with obesity in 1993, meaning the proportion has roughly doubled over the course of a generation.

The figures highlight the scale of one of England’s most persistent public health challenges and come despite decades of government intervention. A 2026 report from the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee said there had been at least 14 government strategies, 689 policies and 10 targets aimed at addressing obesity, alongside the creation and abolition of at least 14 institutions and agencies.

The Committee said progress had been frustratingly slow and warned that the current position was unsustainable. Government action over the years has included measures focused on diet, physical activity, food labelling, advertising, school food, weight management services and the wider environment in which people buy and consume food.

In 2016, the government published its Childhood Obesity: A Plan for Action, which included measures designed to reduce sugar in food and drink, improve school food and encourage children to be more active. A further obesity strategy published in 2020 included plans to expand NHS weight management services, introduce calorie labelling in large restaurants, cafés and takeaways and restrict the advertising and promotion of foods high in fat, sugar and salt.

Despite those measures, obesity prevalence has remained high. The Health Survey for England remains one of the main national sources used to monitor obesity and overweight in the population, and its latest results show that around two in every three adults are now either overweight or living with obesity.

Obesity is associated with an increased risk of a range of long-term health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, joint problems and some cancers. NHS England has also highlighted the pressure obesity places on health services, with more than 1.2 million hospital admissions in England in 2022/23 where obesity was recorded as a factor.

The burden is also not evenly distributed across the population. Government policy has repeatedly recognised a strong link between obesity and deprivation, with people living in poorer communities generally experiencing higher levels of obesity than those in more affluent areas.

This inequality is particularly clear among children. The government’s 2020 obesity strategy acknowledged that children living in the most deprived parts of England were more than twice as likely to be living with obesity as children in the wealthiest areas, contributing to growing concern that obesity is closely tied to wider social and economic inequalities.

More recent government policy has increasingly focused on changing the wider food environment rather than relying solely on individuals to make healthier choices. Measures announced in recent years have included changes to school food standards, expansion of breakfast clubs and free school meals, restrictions on the advertising of less healthy food and work with food manufacturers and retailers to improve the availability and promotion of healthier products.

Treatment options have also expanded significantly. NHS England provides access to weight management services, while newer medicines have widened the range of treatments available for some people living with obesity. In June 2026, the government announced £85 million of government and industry funding for 12 projects exploring new approaches to obesity care, including digital support, virtual services and AI-assisted triage.

However, the longer-term figures suggest that treatment alone will not address the scale of the issue. In 1993, fewer than 15% of adults in England were living with obesity. By 2024, that figure had reached 30%, despite more than three decades of strategies, targets, public health campaigns and changes to food and health policy.

The latest parliamentary assessment has therefore placed renewed focus on prevention and the wider environment in which people live, work and eat. With around two thirds of adults now either overweight or living with obesity, the issue is increasingly being viewed not only as an individual health concern, but as a wider challenge involving prevention, inequality and the long-term sustainability of the NHS.

Stay informed with the stories shaping health and social care.