Four in ten young adults in Britain are overweight or obese, according to new figures released by the NHS.

Nearly three million 16- to 24-year-olds weigh too much - a million more than two decades ago, the statistics reveal.

Doctors said the generation risked dying at a younger age than their parents, despite a host of medical breakthroughs in recent decades.

The figures from NHS Digital, show 39 per cent of 16- to 24-year-olds are overweight or obese, up from 27 per cent in 1993.

Soaring numbers have dangerously large waist sizes, the statistics reveal.

In total, 17 per cent of young men have a waist of at least 40 inches, compared with 4 per cent in 1993.

And 23 per cent of women of this age have a waistband of at least 34.5 inches - a rise from 9 per cent in 1993.

Professor Lord Ian McColl, a former surgeon, said: “Overweight and obese young people may well end up living shorter lives than their parents, most of whom were slim in their youth.