Obesity statistics

Adult obesity in England

The 2022 Health Survey for England estimated that 28% of adults in England were obese and a further 36% were overweight. Men were more likely than women to be overweight or obese (67% of men compared with 61% of women). Obesity is usually defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above. BMI between 25 and 30 is classified as ‘overweight’.

Source: NHS Digital, Health Survey for England 2022, Adult obesity tables

Since 1993 the proportion of adults in England who are overweight or obese has risen from 52.9% to 64.3%, and the proportion who are obese has risen from 14.9% to 28.9%.

In the most deprived areas in England, prevalence of obesity or being overweight is 12 percentage points higher than in the least deprived areas. 

Source: Sport England Active Lives Survey data, via OHID

For information on policy in this area, please see our briefing paper Obesity.

Childhood obesity in England

The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) found that 9.6% of reception age children in England (ages 4-5) were obese in 2023/24, with a further 12.4% overweight. These proportions were higher among year 6 children (age 10-11), with 22.1% being obese and 13.8% overweight.

Overall, 26.8% of children aged 2 to 15 were overweight or obese in 2022/23.

Source: NHS Digital, National Child Measurement Programme, 2022/23; NHS Digital, Health Survey for England 2022

In both age groups, boys are slightly more likely than girls to be obese. This difference is less than one percentage point at ages 4-5 (reception), but rises to five percentage points among ages 10-11 (year 6).

Childhood obesity and deprivation

Children living in more deprived areas are substantially more likely to be obese. In 2022/23, 5.8% of children aged 4-5 living in the least deprived tenth of areas of England were obese. This compares with 12.4% of those living in the most deprived tenth of areas.

In Year 6 (ages 10-11), 13.1% of children living in the least deprived areas were obese, compared with 30.1% in the most deprived areas. In both age groups, children in the most deprived areas were approximately twice as likely to be obese. Rates of severe obesity were around four times higher in the most deprived areas.

Source: NHS Digital, National Child Measurement Programme, 2022/23

Obesity across the UK and related statistics

As well as local authority data for England, the full briefing (download available above) includes data for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as international comparisons. In addition to statistics on the prevalence of obesity, this briefing gives trends in bariatric surgery for obesity.