Councils battling bulging waistlines as one in five labelled ‘obese’

COUNCILS are battling to tackle obesity as ‘worrying’ figures revealed more than 60 per cent of residents across the Herald and Gazette area are overweight.

By The Newsroom

Published 14th Feb 2014, 09:00 BST

Public Health England data shows 66.8 per cent of Arun residents with a Body Mass Index of 25 or more and 62.2 and 61.4 per cent in Adur and Worthing respectively.

The national average is 63.8 per cent.

Worthing cabinet member for health and wellbeing Tom Wye was concerned by the levels of excess weight.

He said: “I am glad Worthing is below the national average but it is worrying.

“If you look at my old school photographs, there are 40 kids and not a single one is overweight.

“Ok, it was 1947 and the war was just over but it is obviously something to do with people not getting enough exercise.”

The figures also show around one in five across the area are obese, with Arun again the highest of the three at 21.4 per cent.

For the full story, see the Herald, out Thursday, February 13.

Public Health England