Study Overview
A new study by researchers from the University of Cambridge, the British Heart Foundation Data Science Centre at Health Data Research UK, and The George Institute for Global Health reveals that nearly one in three adults in England were affected by obesity in 2025. The study also shows that the most disadvantaged groups bear a disproportionate burden of the obesity crisis, and this gap has widened since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key Findings
- Obesity is rising: Rates of new obesity cases increased overall by 4% in 2025 compared with before the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Young adults hit hardest: New cases rose by almost 20% in those aged 30-39, and by 16% in those aged 20-29, while rates fell among adults aged 60-79.
- Risk rises with deprivation: Over the study period, new obesity cases were 35% higher for people with the highest socioeconomic deprivation compared with the lowest. The gap was wider for women (54% higher) and widest for Asian women (94% higher).
- Ethnicity and deprivation compound: Obesity prevalence ranged from 4% among the most affluent White men aged 18-19 to 66% among the most deprived Black women aged 60-69 – nearly double that of the least-deprived White women of the same age.
- Large geographical differences: Obesity prevalence in some areas of northeast England (48%) was nearly six times higher than in the most affluent parts of central London (8.5%). The steepest increases were seen in areas with the lowest GDP per capita.
Expert Commentary
Robert Fletcher of the University of Cambridge and The George Institute, study co-lead, said: “Levels of obesity in England have worsened since the pandemic, with nearly one in three people now affected. We’re also seeing large disparities across the country: the percentage of adults affected by obesity in northeast England is six times higher than in central London. Differences on this scale are rarely seen in other areas of public health. The rise in new cases among young adults of childbearing age is especially concerning. Beyond the implications for their own long-term health, obesity is associated with infertility, adverse pregnancy outcomes, and child obesity, which may perpetuate intergenerational cycles of health inequality.”
Professor Naveed Sattar, Professor of Cardiometabolic Medicine at the University of Glasgow and Chair of the Obesity Health Care Goals Programme, added: “Obesity is not primarily about will power. These new, powerful data indicate that those most at risk frequently reside in the most obesogenic environments and likely have the least agency to withstand such environments. To achieve lasting change, the UK must expand access to new treatments faster but also fundamentally reshape food and activity environments so that healthier choices occur with minimal conscious effort. Failure to act will drive further rises in multimorbidity and human suffering, with profound consequences for the NHS and the wider economy.”
Significance of the Study
This is the first study to analyse obesity trends from 2019 to 2025, using NHS England electronic health records covering nearly 55 million adults. Researchers note that obesity is now more common than hypertension in the UK, and nearly three times as common as smoking. It is a chronic, complex disease linked with heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and kidney failure, affecting mental wellbeing and placing growing pressure on healthcare and the economy.
The study also notes that GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs (e.g., Ozempic/Wegovy and Mounjaro) are effective in managing obesity but did not assess their impact. Fletcher commented: “We don’t see any obvious reduction in obesity in our data following the introduction of GLP-1 receptor agonists, at least not within the current study period. However, the drugs on their own are unlikely to be the answer. At present, the majority are privately prescribed and expensive, which poses a barrier for people from disadvantaged backgrounds. We need deep-seated change to the many social and economic factors that drive obesity in the first place.”
The study, funded by the Wellcome Trust, Health Data Research UK, the British Heart Foundation, and others, has been published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.