Around 45 people will die from obesity-linked heart disease every single day over the next decade if current trends continue, worrying research has warned.
Currently, around 200,000 people a year suffer a heart attack or stroke, making cardiovascular disease the UK’s biggest killer.
And while the obesity crisis may be tapering off in some countries, in the UK, obesity rates are still rising – especially among the country’s youngest.
Obesity costs the NHS in excess of £6.5 billion per year and is one of the leading causes of preventable ill health, increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke and cancer.
Now the British Heart Foundation is calling on the Government to deliver on its promise for a ‘healthy food revolution’.
‘We are at risk of sleepwalking further into an obesity epidemic which will have dire consequences for decades to come,’ Dr Charmaine Griffiths, the charity’s CEO said.
‘Obesity is one of the biggest drivers of cardiovascular disease, so if we don’t keep momentum, there could be tens of thousands of families who will lose loved ones needlessly over the next decade.
‘These deaths are not inevitable. Bold action now by the UK Government could mean preventing more lives being cut short by obesity.’
Cardiovascular deaths in working age adults have risen by 18 per cent in the UK since 2019, from 18,693 to 21,975 in 2023, averaging 420 a week
Around one in nine cardiovascular deaths in England are attributed to excess weight and obesity every year, driven predominantly by poor diets.
High levels of deprivation and vast inequalities across the country have also been blamed for the obesity epidemic in England, with high fat, salt and sugary foods (HFSS) more readily available than healthier options.
Dr Griffiths continued: ‘The Government has promised a ‘healthy food revolution’, but it’s yet to materialise.
‘Pledges must become policy sooner rather than later if we’re to stop heart attacks and strokes robbing thousands of the chance to live a long, healthy life.’
The policy was announced last year but a formal consultation is yet to be published, renewing fresh concerns that time is running out to turn the tide on obesity.
‘We cannot accept a future where tens of thousands more lives are cut short, unnecessarily, by diet-related disease,’ Katharine Jenner, Executive Director of the Obesity Health Alliance said.
‘On the one-year anniversary of the Healthy Food Standards being announced, these stark projections should serve as a reminder to the government of the urgent need to act.
‘Strong targets for businesses to improve the healthiness of the food they sell would help shift the balance towards healthier products and reduce diet‑related disease across the population.
The British Heart Foundation has slammed foods high in sugar, salt and saturated fats, saying that the Government need to do more to promote healthy food standards
‘This is about prevention, fairness and giving every family a better chance of living a long and healthy life.
‘These deaths are not inevitable – but time is running out to act.’
Around eight million people in the UK are thought to be living with cardiovascular disease. An estimated 1.2 million have a body mass index (BMI) above 27, making them clinically overweight or obese.
Excess weight, especially around the waist, can cause fatty material known as cholesterol to build up in the arteries – which are responsible for carrying life-giving oxygen around the body.
Not only does this increase the risk of high cholesterol, but it can also drive up blood pressure and your chances of developing type 2 diabetes – all of which put added pressure on your heart.
If a major artery becomes damaged and clogged it can cut-off blood supply to the brain or heart, leading to a heart attack, stroke or even dementia.
The charity has already called on the Government to work to prevent 125,000 heart attacks and strokes, reduce early deaths from cardiovascular disease by 25 per cent, and cut the number of years lost to heart-related ill health by a quarter by 2035.
While promoting healthier foods and lifestyles is one way to do this, experts think weight loss jabs could also help turn the tide on obesity and slash the number of heart attacks.
Earlier this year, the NHS announced the jabs will be given to 1.2 million patients on the NHS with a BMI of more than 27 to stop heart attacks and strokes.
The guidance from the NHS watchdog said semaglutide – the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic – should be given to patients who have previously suffered a heart attack or stroke to reduce their risk of another incident.
The guidance came following a clinical trial which found the drugs work directly on the circulatory system, reducing the risk of a heart attack or stroke by a fifth.
Helen Williams, national clinical director for cardiovascular disease prevention at NHS England, said: ‘For more than a million people at high risk of heart attack and stroke, this treatment on the NHS could be life-changing – offering a powerful new way to protect their hearts and improve their health.’
In response, a spokesperson from the Department of Health and Social Care said: ‘Cardiovascular disease remains one of the country’s biggest killers, and we know obesity has a major part to play in this.
‘That’s why we are tackling obesity by rolling out weight loss drugs to more patients, requiring large businesses to report on the healthiness of their food and setting new targets to improve the healthiness of products sold.
‘We are helping people stay healthier for longer by improving prevention, speeding up diagnosis and treatment of heart disease and identifying those most at risk earlier, so they get high quality care wherever they live.’
