Last updated at 08:13 21 February 2007

The scale of the obesity crisis was laid bare last night when an alarming report revealed Britons are the fattest people in Europe.

A quarter of women and a fifth of men in the UK are now so overweight that their health is at serious risk.

British women head the EU league, with 23 per cent clinically obese, and men fare little better, with 22.3 per cent classified as obese -behind only Malta.

The shocking figures, compiled by the British women are now officially the most overweight in Europe and men aren't far behind

EU's statistical office, will fuel fears that Britain is facing a public health timebomb created by a growing reliance on fast food and time-saving technology.

Experts say that unless the Government acts now, an entire generation faces an old age blighted by heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other diseases brought on by obesity.

Neville Rigby, of the International Obesity Task Force, said: 'We are not just sitting on a health timebomb, we are watching it go off.'

And Dr Colin Waine, of the National Obesity Forum, said: 'The health risks are tremendous but the statistics are still going up exponentially.

'We need the Government to work with food manufacturers to produce a diet which is nutritious but less dense in sugar, salt and fat.

'We need to make motorised transport less necessary and make it easier for people to walk and bicycle to where they need to go.'

The authoritative Eurostat yearbook places Britain at the top of a chart of obesity of the EU's 27 member countries. Second and third place are taken by Germany and Malta.

Breaking the data down by gender shows that British women are the fattest in Europe, with almost a quarter at least two to three stone over their ideal weight.

German women have an obesity rate of 21.7 per cent and Maltese women 21.2 per cent. The thinnest women are in Italy, where fewer than 8 per cent are obese.

The highest rate of male obesity is in Malta, with 25.1 per cent obese. British men are second with a rate of 22.3 per cent, followed by Hungary and Germany. Romania has the best record on male obesity, with just 7.7 per cent obese.

Measured by calculating Body Mass Index - a mathematical formula relating height to weight - people are classified as obese if they weigh a fifth more than their ideal maximum weight.

The EU statisticians looked only at adult obesity, but previous studies have shown rates of child obesity are equally worrying.

In Britain the figures have trebled in 20 years, with 10 per cent of six-year-olds and 17 per cent of 15-year-olds now obese.

Adult obesity rates have nearly quadrupled over the last 25 years, making Britain the second-fattest nation in the developed world, trailing behind only America.

Obesity causes 9,000 premature deaths a year and costs the NHS up to £1billion.

Being obese can take nine years off a person's lifespan and raise the risk of a host of health problems including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, infertility and depression.

Various cancers, including breast, colon, kidney and stomach cancer, are known to be linked to weight.

A spokesman for the British Heart Foundation said: 'Being overweight or obese is a serious risk factor for heart disease and something we all need to work to sort out.

'The good thing is that there are lots of things people can do to make a difference such as combining healthy eating and activity.'

LibDem health spokesman Norman Lamb said: 'To be bottom of the European league table is a dire situation to be in. Although food manufacturers have made some progress in making foods healthier, more needs to be done.'

Previous Government drives to cut obesity included offering dance classes on the NHS. In November, TV watchdog Ofcom announced a ban on junk food adverts during programmes targeted at under-16s.

The Department of Health also plans to weigh children when they start school and send letters home if they are too fat.

The average Briton eats just over three portions of fruit and vegetables a day - well under the recommended five portions a day - and will get through 22,000 ready-meals, sandwiches and sweet snacks in a lifetime - little short of one a day.