Estimates put the cost of the obesity problem in the UK at 3.3 billion every year and it is rising annually. Research shows that all over the globe people are getting fatter especially in developed countries but the problem is accelerating in the UK far faster than in other countries and now children in the UK are considered to be up near the top of the obesity stakes.

The problem is also that this obesity epidemic is hitting poorer people much more than the higher socio economic people and this is pushing them farther apart meaning that the weight crisis could also create a social revolution too. A recent government report that was commissioned by the public health ministry claims that a big divide could be created between the poor, obese and depressed underclass and a richer, healthier and thin elite.

Better off people are far more likely to get exercise especially as they are able to afford to go to gyms and they tend to live in areas with more recreational facilities. The cost of eating healthily is also far higher than eating junk food and this is aggravating the crisis for the poorer people.

The divide has already started to be apparent according to the report done by the Foresight Programme and that it is especially evident in children. The cost of this obesity could have a big effect on the NHS as insurance companies will begin only to insure slim people and thus the state will take on the massive burden of the overweight and obese underclass. The UK government is busy fact finding and has asked all GP’s to give out questionnaires to patients that may give them a better and more precise picture of the problem.

The majority of UK citizens do not meet recommendations drawn up by the Chief Medical Officer that say that you should do thirty minutes of physical activity on at least five days in a week. The recommendations also say that children should do at least one hour doing proper exercise every week and parents should limit snacks and watching TV to reasonable limits.