Social inequality drives obesity gap across England, study finds
Monday 17th August 2026 on 09:45 in
Austria
Social conditions are a major factor behind rising obesity rates in England, with poorer people affected disproportionately, according to a study reported by ORF. Researchers from the Medical University of Innsbruck contributed to the analysis.
The study examined health records for 54,892,390 people aged 18 to 99 registered with England’s National Health Service between November 2019 and the end of April 2025. Researchers assessed obesity trends by age, sex, socioeconomic status, ethnic background and region.
During the study period, 4,131,555 people received a new obesity diagnosis, defined as a body mass index of 30 or higher. Women accounted for 2,278,485 cases, or 55.1 percent, and men for 1,853,070, or 44.9 percent. The average age at diagnosis was 43.
Overall obesity prevalence rose from 26.3 percent at the start of the study to 30.3 percent by 2025. The largest increases occurred among younger adults, rising by 16 percent among people aged 20 to 29 and by 19 percent among those aged 30 to 39.
Obesity prevalence was 35 percent higher in the most socioeconomically disadvantaged fifth of the population than in the least disadvantaged fifth, the researchers found.
When age, sex, socioeconomic status and ethnic background were considered together, prevalence ranged from 4.3 percent among the least disadvantaged white men aged 18 to 19 to 66.1 percent among the most disadvantaged Black women aged 60 to 69. The latter figure was nearly twice the rate among the least disadvantaged white women in the same age group, at 34.5 percent.
Regional rates also varied widely, ranging from 8.5 percent to 48.1 percent. The poorest regions recorded the highest levels.
The epidemiologists concluded that nearly one in three adults in England is obese, and that inequalities have worsened since the Covid-19 pandemic. They warned that rising rates among women of childbearing age could reinforce health inequalities across generations and said prevention measures should take social inequalities into account.