According to research from Professor McMahon of the Nuffield private healthcare chain, the success of larger stars such as TV Presenter Eamonn Holmes, comedian Johnny Vegas and singer Beth Ditto has shown that being overweight is no barrier to success.
Traditionally, it has been the supermodel waifs who have been blamed for influencing society for eating disorders such as anorexia. However, doctors are now concerned that being obese is as much of a problem.
Professor McMahon, said: “The increasing profile of larger celebrities means that being overweight is now perceived as being ‘normal’ in the eyes of the public. We talk about the dangers of skinny media images but the problem actually swings both ways.”
Obesity reduces life expectancy by up to ten years and raises the risk of many health problems including heart disease, diabetes, infertility and some cancers.
A study published in the British Medical Journal in 2008 found that obesity levels had doubled in an eight-year period but less people thought their weight was a concern.
With the success of sitcoms such as Gavin and Stacey where two of the main characters, James Corden and Ruth Jones, are also of generous proportions, there is growing concern that bulging waistlines are being accepted as normal.
The obesity problem also seems to be passing down from generation to generation as children become overweight as they copy their parents poor eating habits.
Further research by Nuffield Health has shown that one in 12 British adults is so overweight that they could qualify for obesity surgery.
The group asked more than 2,000 men and women about their height and weight and used the answers to calculate each person’s body mass index (BMI).
A BMI below 18.5 is regarded as underweight, above 25 is overweight and above 30 is regarded as obese.
Guidelines state that gastric bands should be considered for those with a BMI of 35 who have other health problems such as high blood pressure or diabetes and fitted in those with BMIs of 40 even if they don’t have other symptoms.
One in 12 of those questioned had a BMI of 35 or above – potentially making them eligible for gastric band surgery.
This suggests that across the UK, up to 3.6million men and women are so fat that surgery is the best option.
Professor McMahon went on to say: ‘If people continue to turn a blind eye to their weight problems, they will see their life expectancy considerably shortened. “
‘The new research suggests that if the rise in obesity continues at this rate, the majority of the British population could be obese before the turn of the century.
‘Clearly this is a situation that cannot be allowed to happen.’