Obesity rates may finally be levelling off in countries including the UK (Image: Getty)
The rising tide of obesity in the UK is levelling off, with game-changing jabs set to help “turn the tide”, experts have said. Analysis of data from 200 countries since the 1980s by experts at Imperial College London found many had seen rates begin to level off, slowing first in children and then adults.
The escalating obesity rates in the UK are beginning to stabilize, with groundbreaking injections poised to significantly alter the landscape, according to specialists. Researchers at Imperial College London analyzed data from 200 nations dating back to the 1980s, finding that many countries have observed a slowdown in obesity rates, initially among children and subsequently in adults.
In the UK specifically, a stabilization in obesity among girls was noted around the year 2000, with boys following suit slightly later. Although obesity rates among both men and women continued to rise, the pace has decelerated, the study revealed. Professor Majid Ezzati indicated that the transformative impact of weight loss injections is likely not yet evident in the current data.
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Professor Ezzati remarked, “Our experience with statins has shown that widespread drug use can have substantial effects. In the future, these could indeed be game-changers.”
Dr. Louis Aronne, head of the Comprehensive Weight Control Center at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, observed that new obesity treatments are already making a significant impact in countries where these medications are readily accessible.
“In terms of treating chronic metabolic disease, these treatments are one of the biggest breakthroughs we have had — I think it’s bigger than statins as it is going to affect more people.”
Professor Jason Halford, a former president of the European Association for the Study of Obesity, said weight loss jabs “should accelerate” progress towards reducing obesity rates, if people can access treatment.
He warned: “We will see overall rates coming down but because most people are getting it privately, what we will see is differences in rates amongst different social classes actually increasing.”
The data does not yet reflect the impact of weight loss jabs like Mounjaro (Image: Getty)
Prof Ezzati noted that a high proportion of people in the UK were still obese. Rates among boys soared from 1.5% in 1980 to 12.4% in 2024, and rose from 5.7% to 26.7% among men.
Obesity among girls rose from 1.6% to 10.1% over the same period, and from 8.5% to 29.6% among women.
The study found that obesity rates may have begun to decline in some countries including France, Italy and Portugal.
However, they continued to rise in many low and middle-income countries including parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Prof Ezzati added: “We now need to find out why some countries are doing so much better than others and apply the lessons to stop obesity from increasing.
“Ultimately, this analysis shows that the trend towards obesity is not inevitable, and that it is possible for policy makers to intervene to stop and even reverse growing obesity.”
The findings were presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul and published in the journal Nature.
