Obesity and Physical Activity JSNA

Obesity is defined as excessive body fat that presents a risk to health. Different metrics are available to measure excess fat but typically, obesity is measured using a Body Mass Index (BMI) calculation . Physical activity in simple terms, refers to any movement that uses energy. Regular activity is a key factor in maintaining a healthy weight and reducing the risk of developing chronic diseases. In England, 64.5% of adults were overweight or obese in 2023-2024 with 26.5% classified as obese2. Meanwhile, 22% of adults were physically inactive, meaning they did less than 30 minutes of moderate activity per week3.

As a local authority it is important to create opportunities to address obesity and inactivity through shaping environments that support healthy lifestyles. This is fundamental for reducing health inequalities, where obesity rates are 37.4% in the most deprived decile compared to 19.8% in the least deprived2 Therefore, improving population health is essential as obesity is linked to serious disease including Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and poor mental health3; also, to enhance efforts to improve quality of life, physical activity improves mental wellbeing, mobility and can contribute to independence especially in older adults.

The total cost of obesity and overweight in the UK in 2025 is estimated to be £126 billion broken down as: £31 billion in productivity losses, £12.6 billion in NHS treatment costs, £1.2 billion in formal social care, £71.4 billion in quality-adjusted life year (QALY) losses and 310.5 billion in informal care costs4. These costs disproportionately affected deprived communities and ethnic minorities, exacerbating social inequalities.