Eight in ten middle-aged Britons are overweight, inactive or drink too much alcohol, shocking figures reveal today.

Officials say those in the 40 to 60 age group are neglecting their health because they are too busy worrying about their children, ageing parents or work.

Some 83 per cent have poor lifestyle habits, a major analysis by Public Health England and Oxford University academics has found.

Eight in ten middle-aged Britons are overweight, inactive or drink too much alcohol, shocking figures reveal today. File photo

This includes 63 per cent of women and 77 per cent of men who are overweight, with nearly a third of each sex classified as obese.

Almost a third of women and a quarter of men are inactive, which is defined as doing less than 30 minutes of exercise a week.

And a fifth of women and a third of men exceed the recommended weekly alcohol intake of 14 units, equivalent to six 175ml glasses of wine or six pints.

Only 13 per cent of middle-aged men and 21 per cent of women are a healthy weight, physically active and do not drink too much.

Officials at Public Health England – the agency tasked with preventing ill health – said the demands of modern-day living were ‘taking their toll on the nation’.

They warned that the middle-aged were the hardest hit as worries about their children, ageing parents and running their households led them to neglect their own health.

Professor Kevin Fenton, of Public Health England, said the middle-aged were so caught up in the ‘daily grind’ that looking after themselves had become ‘the least of their priorities’.

Officials say those in the 40 to 60 age group are neglecting their health because they are too busy worrying about their children, ageing parents or work. File photo

Many are sleep deprived – which can encourage over-eating – and they are also inclined to over-indulge in food or alcohol in an attempt to unwind.

Officials analysed data from the annual health survey for England, completed by 8,000 adults each year, and specifically extracted figures for the 40 to 60 age group.

The most shocking finding was that almost a third were obese, including 31 per cent of men and 30 per cent of women. This rate has soared since 1996, when only 21.5 per cent were obese.

Britain has one of the highest levels of obesity in Europe and the Government has recently been criticised for failing to address the crisis.

Professor Sir Muir Gray, an expert in public health at Oxford University, said: ‘The demands of modern-day living are taking their toll on the health of the nation, and it’s those in middle age that are suffering the consequences most, as their health reaches worrying new levels.

‘Busy lives and desk jobs make it difficult to live healthily. But just making a few small changes will have significant benefits to people’s health now and in later life.’

Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies said: ‘With being overweight now the norm in England, lifestyle choices, such as what we eat and drink, are increasingly impacting on health and people’s quality of life. There is no better time for people to start making the changes needed to live a healthier life.’

Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of above 30, while people higher than 25 are classed as overweight.

A 5ft 6in (1.70m) woman weighing 13st 7lb (86kg) or more would be considered obese, while if she weighed 11st 4lb (72kg) she would be overweight.

OBESITY CRISIS A '30-YEAR PROBLEM' The obesity epidemic is so huge it will take more than 30 years to fix, the Government has admitted. The obesity epidemic is so huge it will take more than 30 years to fix Public health officials predict that it will be a decade before national sugar consumption is cut by just a fifth. The stark admission by the Department of Health comes just months after it released the long-awaited childhood obesity strategy. Richard Sangster, head of obesity policy, said there was no quick fix to a ‘highly complex issue’. ‘It’s a problem that has taken 30 years or so to get to this point,’ he said. ‘It’s going to take a similar amount of time to tackle this issue.’ Poor diet and lifestyle have been blamed for fat becoming ‘the new normal’, with 61 per cent of adults officially classed as overweight or obese. The strategy was a response to figures which revealed a third of children are overweight or obese by the time they leave primary school. Speaking at a meeting chaired by Tory MP Maggie Throup, a member of the health select committee, Mr Sangster insisted Britain was leading the way in tackling obesity. ‘We think the obesity plan will give us around a fifth reduction in ten years,’ he said. ‘If we achieve that, that would be fantastic – no country in the world has reduced levels of obesity.’ Advertisement

Inactivity is defined as doing less than 30 minutes’ exercise a week, including brisk walking. Ideally, however, adults should do 150 minutes a week of exercise. Gardening and rigorous housework both count.

Experts are worried that if the middle-aged generation do not address their lifestyles soon, many will shortly fall victim to heart disease, type 2 diabetes or cancer.

Dan Howarth, head of care at Diabetes UK, said: ‘We know that people often bury their heads in the sand when it comes to their general health, but the consequences of doing nothing can be catastrophic.’

Dr Mike Knapton, of the British Heart Foundation, added: ‘It’s extremely important not to lose sight of these worrying statistics which remind us that there is serious disconnect with middle-aged people, in general, not being in their best health.’

Over the summer the Government was criticised for producing a watered-down obesity strategy, which failed to include key measures to reform junk food.

Calorie limits 'should be cut to reflect our couch potato lifestyles'

Daily Mail Reporter

Britons are so inactive that they do not need nearly as many calories as their parents’ generation, researchers claim.

Guidelines suggest an average man requires 2,500 calories a day while an average woman should aim for 2,000.

But these were drawn up around the First World War when adults walked to work and visited friends in person rather than phoning or texting.

Britons are so inactive that they do not need nearly as many calories as their parents’ generation, researchers claim

Researchers from the London School of Economics who analysed 30 years of data say the modern-day calorie requirements should be slashed.

Dr Joan Costa-Font, whose study is published in the journal Food Policy, said: ‘Typically, life in the 21st century might mean a commute into a desk-based occupation, and three or four meals a day, leading to many people consuming more calories than their lifestyles require.

‘We still eat like our parents did, or worse, but we don’t move around nearly as much as they did. People no longer have to visit each other to hold a face-to-face conversation, they can simply Skype. We jump in the car or the bus or the Tube rather than walking.

‘As lifestyles have slowed down and become more sedate, people haven’t amended their calorie intake accordingly. We should all eat less.

‘The amount of food we eat compared with energy expenditure is simply too much. If people were as active as they were 30 years ago then recommended daily allowances of calories would be fine. It’s very hard to change how you eat from how your parents told you to eat, but we should all eat less today.

WHEN THE WORKING WEEK WAS 54 HOURS The current daily calorie guidelines were drawn up during the First World War, when life involved a lot more physical exercise: The average working week during the war was 54 hours, against 44 today, with many more people working on Saturdays. Able-bodied men served in the military, which involved physical labour such as military drills, digging trenches and carrying heavy equipment. Poor diet and not enough exercise have been blamed for the current obesity epidemic. File photo While men were away at war, millions of women went to work in factories, shops, transport and on farms. A quarter of the population lived in poverty, and were unable to afford the ‘luxury’ of public transport such as trains. Cars were expensive and rare – owned by just 0.3 per cent of the population – so adults would generally walk to work. Life expectancy was 52, compared to 81 today, and between six and nine of every 1,000 women died in childbirth. One in five children died during their first five years. Advertisement

‘Maybe we could work out how much people are over-eating and reduce calories accordingly.’

Poor diet and lifestyle have been blamed for the current obesity epidemic, with 61 per cent of British adults now officially classed as overweight or obese.

Obesity is estimated to be the fourth largest risk factor contributing to deaths in England after hypertension, smoking and high cholesterol.

Earlier this year, statistics on obesity, physical activity and diet in England found that the UK was the tenth fattest country out of 45 studied.