Statistics on Obesity, Physical Activity and Diet - England, 2010

Summary

This statistical report presents a range of information on obesity, physical activity and diet, drawn together from a variety of sources.

The topics covered include:

• Overweight and obesity prevalence among adults and children;
• Physical activity levels among adults and children;
• Trends in purchases and consumption of food and drink and energy intake; and
• Health outcomes of being overweight or obese.

This report contains seven chapters which consist of the following:

Chapter 1:

Introduction; this summarises Government plans and targets in this area, as well as providing sources of further information and links to relevant documents.

Chapters 2 to 6:

Covering obesity, physical activity and diet which have been significantly reduced from last year's report in order to provide an overview of the key findings from these sources, whilst maintaining useful links to each section of the reports.

Chapter 7:

Health Outcomes; presents a range of information about the health outcomes of being obese or overweight which includes information on health risks, hospital admissions and prescription drugs used for treatment of obesity.

Figures presented in Chapter 7 have been obtained from a number of sources and presented in a user-friendly format. Most of the data contained in the chapter have been published previously by the National Audit Office or NHS Information Centre.

Previously unpublished figures on obesity-related Finished Hospital Episodes and Finished Consultant Episodes for 2008/09 are presented using data from The NHS Information Centre's Hospital Episode Statistics as well as data from the Prescribing Unit at the NHS Information Centre on prescription items dispensed for treatment of obesity.