New Labour makes you fat

I know; I am shameless; blaming New Labour for obesity is a stretch, but I couldn't resist. The fact is that since New Labour were elected in 1997, the proportion of overweight or obese adults has increased. With adult men, the proportion has increased from 62.1 percent to 65.1 percent, while for women, it has increased from 52.5 percent to 56.4 percent.

This chart also proves something that I have always suspected; that there are more fat men than women in the UK.

However, the really scary thing is the growing obesity problem among children.

For both girls and boys, the proportion of obese children is up about 5 percent over the decade.

More recently, there appears to be a slight reduction in obesity rates, both for adults and children, suggesting that it is a problem with a solution. So if you are a few pounds heavier than you want to be, stop reading this blog, switch off the computer right now and go for a walk around the park.