Being less active and eating more food has led to the average UK male weighing over a stone more in 2000 than he did in 1986, reflecting a rising trend in obesity rates.
This was the conclusion of a British Heart Foundation-funded study led by Dr Peter Scarborough of the Department of Public Health at Oxford University and published in the British Journal of Nutrition.
It reflects a rising trend in obesity rates: 25 per cent of men in England were classed as obese in 2008, compared with only 7 per cent in 1986/87.
A BHF representative described the finding as a “ticking time bomb”.
Bigger men are at higher risk of heart disease and other chronic illnesses.
BHF Associate Medical Director Dr Mike Knapton told the press that:
“Obesity is a major risk factor for diabetes, heart disease and stroke and contributes to premature death and poor quality of life.”
“This research suggests a ticking time bomb for male health, and underlines the importance of both regular exercise and a balanced diet in keeping your weight down and your heart healthy,” he added.
Scarborough and his team from the BHF Health Promotion Research Group at the University of Oxford examined data on body weight and food consumption over a 15 year period from 1986 to 2000.
By comparing food availability and taking into account what is thrown away and wasted, they calculated that the average UK adult ate more in 2000 than he or she did in 1986.
Scarborough told the press that:
“It’s clear people are eating more, and today we’re seeing a continued increase in the amount of food available.”
From the calculated increase in food intake, they worked out that the average adult male in the UK in the year 2000 would weigh 4.7 kg (10.3lb) more than he did in 1986.
But the observed increase in weight of the average UK male over that period was 7.7 kg: much more than could be explained by increased food intake alone.
So they concluded that a reduction in physical activity, as well as the extra food, was the reason behind the dramatic rise in weight of the average UK male.
Women in the UK have also put on more weight, but this can be explained by extra food consumption alone: the researchers calculated an expected weight gain of 5.4 kg (11.9 lb) from increased food intake, which was much the same as the observed weight gain of the average UK female from 1986 to 2000, according to a BBC report on the research.
Speculating on the reasons behind the reduction in exercise of the average UK male, Scarborough said:
“One partial explanation could be that men spend more of their working lives sitting at desks now – manual careers are less common than they used to be.”
Commenting on the findings, a spokesman for the National Obesity Forum told the Guardian newspaper that the problem of obesity is going to get worse because not enough is being done to regulate the amount of fat, sugar and salt in processed foods.
Sources: University of Oxford, British Heart Foundation, Guardian, BBC.
Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD