Shocking new data reveals 71 per cent of adults in Doncaster are overweight or obese

According to Public Health England (PHE), a greater proportion of adults in Doncaster are overweight than in Middlesbrough, Blackpool and Oldham, while the national average is 63.5 per cent.

The latest data shows the highest recorded percentage of the country’s population being overweight since records began in 2015/16.

Detailed analysis by food addiction experts at the UK Addiction Treatment Group shows that in 2015/16, 61.3 per cent of people in the country were classified as overweight or obese. This figure, they say, has risen every year since, and now stands at 63.5 per cent.

The place where the greatest percentage of overweight or obese people live is Thurrock in Essex, with 76.3 per cent.

It is estimated that overweight and obesity-related conditions across the UK are costing the NHS an enormous £6.1 billion each year.

Latest figures show that there were just over 1 million hospital admissions in 2019/20 where obesity was a factor.

One in three children overweight or obese

Most worryingly, PHE also revealed that one in three children leaving primary school are already overweight or obese.

Nuno Albuquerque, consultant treatment lead at food addiction specialists UKAT, said: “Public Health England has announced it in black and white. As a nation, we are eating and drinking too many calories.

“Of course we recognise that there’ll be many different reasons for this daily over-consumption; for some, it’ll be a lack of understanding as to the nutritional value in what they eat, hence the recent introduction of calories labels on menus in restaurants.

“But what we know first-hand is that for some, over-consumption has no longer become a choice. Certain types of foods, like highly sugary foods, react with the brain’s dopamine receptors to create feelings of pleasure. Once your brain becomes used to receiving excessive amounts of sugar, you might start to experience intense cravings, which can result in a food addiction.

“Like all behavioural addictions, food addiction is treatable with the right support as it’s likely that the person will be suffering with an underlying psychological issue, like low self-esteem or as a result from trauma. We urge anyone suffering to simply ask for help.”

Doncaster is named as one of the fattest towns in Yorkshire