In the United States for the first time in history a majority of adults are overweight, with statistics not much better in Russia and Britain. In the US, type two diabetes, which usually develops in obese people later in life, has been found in teenagers. The World Health Organization has said obesity is the biggest unrecognised health problem in the world. Professor Peter Kopelman runs the obesity clinic at the Royal London Hospital.
Obesity is associated with a large number of very important diseases.
It is a major health risk. Professor Kopelman said the problem was spreading to developing countries. As they become more affluent the proportion of obese people is increasing. There is a population who are under-nourished, and importantly an increasing proportion of the population who are becoming obese. He said only a small number of people were aware of the problems of obesity, partly because the impact on health tended to come many years later.