The weighting crisis: 75 per cent of over-45 are fat #TheElitePartyInJuly #Entertain9jar via @myentertain9jar

BRITAIN faces a “looming health crisis” because so many older people are obese, experts are warning.

 

Three-quaters of those aged between 45 and 74 are overweight, figures show [GETTY]

Three-quarters of those aged between 45 and 74 are overweight, figures show.

Health advice about obesity is too focused on the young, it is claimed. In fact young adults aged 16 to 24 form the only age group with a normal average body mass index (BMI).

The National Obesity Forum (NOF) warned that the new figures show a large proportion of the population will face significant weight-related health problems as they enter old age.

Being overweight or obese can lead to a number of potentially life-threatening conditions including Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, some types of cancer and stroke.

If you think that obesity is just for the young and the middle aged then you are wrong

Tam Fry, National Obesity Forum

Tam Fry from the NOF, said: “If you think that obesity is just for the young and the middle aged then you are wrong.

“There needs to be a clear message that everybody needs to take control and watch what they are eating.”

He warned that many overweight elderly people face a “catch 22” because problems linked to being overweight and muscle wastage mean they cannot exercise to improve their health.

The average BMI measurement of those aged 45 to 74 is 28.3. Anything over 25 is considered to be proof that a patient is overweight.

Professor Martin Severs, lead clinician at the Health and Social Care Information Centre, which produced the figures, said the problem could lead to more people dying younger or more older people suffering disablility.

Ruthe Isden, of Age UK, said: “Historically public health approaches have been very focused on children and it’s all about getting them while they are young and if you are old then ‘it’s a bit late to bother’.

“There is a really important need to turn some of that around and actually start talking to people about how it’s never too late to adopt healthy behaviours.”

She said just a “tiny” proportion of older people get enough exercise, adding: “In the 75-plus population it’s something as low as four per cent of people getting their recommended weekly amounts.”