Millennials are on course to be the most overweight generation in history, according to new research.

Cancer Research UK predicts that seven out of ten Britons born between the early 1980s and mid-1990s will be overweight or obese by the time they are in the 35 to 44 age group.

By comparison, only five in ten baby boomers were overweight or obese before they hit middle age.

In recent years, the highest obesity levels were seen in people aged 55 to 64, but “experts are concerned that younger generations are on track to become fatter still”, the BBC reports.

Despite their reputation for “following seemingly healthy food trend”, many millennials need to improve their eating habits, said Cancer Research UK’s Professor Linda Bauld.

“Nothing beats a balanced diet,” she added. “Eating plenty of fruit, vegetables and other fibre filled foods like whole grains, and cutting down on junk food, is the best way to keep a healthy weight.”

Being overweight is the UK’s biggest cause of cancer after smoking, but the charity warns that “most people don’t know” about this substantial risk.

Soaring obesity rates have been blamed on modern lifestyles, with easy access to cheap high-calorie foods, as well as sedentary jobs.

Tam Fry, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said the latest estimates were “horrifying” and criticised the Government for failing to address the problem, the Daily Mail reports.

These figures “are the result of successive governments paying only lip-service to tackling an obesity crisis which was already headlines ten years ago”, Fry added.