Almost 700,000 new cases of cancer linked to being overweight or obese could be diagnosed in the UK during the next 20 years, according to a new report from Cancer Research UK and the UK Health Forum.
The report also predicts, for the first time, the alarming impact obesity will have on cancer in the UK based on current trends. If they continue, almost three in four adults will be overweight or obese by 2035. Even more concerning is the prediction that more people will be obese than overweight by 2030.
The report estimates that rising rates of obesity and being overweight in the UK could lead not only to 700,000 new cancer cases, but also millions of new cases of type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease and stroke. This would cost the NHS an additional £2.5 billion a year by 2035 over and above what is already spent on obesity related disease.
On a positive note, the study shows that small changes can have dramatic impacts. Just a one per cent shift in the number of people going from the overweight or obese category to the healthy weight category every year could prevent more than 64,000 cancer cases over the next 20 years and save the NHS £300 million in 2035 alone.
To tackle this obesity epidemic, Cancer Research UK is calling on the Government to introduce a 9pm watershed ban on TV advertising of junk food as well as a 20p per litre tax on sugary drinks as part of a comprehensive children’s obesity strategy.
