Obesity boom will cost tax payers

Rising obesity levels are set to drain local health and public service budgets, which will mean higher taxes for all.

Obesity could cost NHS in England £6.3bn by 2015 if no effective action is taken says the Department of Health. Local councils in England and Wales are already shelling out tens of thousands of pounds on "fat-friendly" services, like widening crematoria furnaces.

The Local Government Association warns that Britain is fast becoming the "obesity capital of the world" and even more must be done to stop the nation's waistline continuing to expand. David Rogers, LGA spokesperson on public health, said: "It's a massive issue for public health but it also risks placing an unprecedented amount of pressure on council services. Obesity is increasingly costing the council taxpayer dear. It falls to social services to care for the house-bound obese adults, to invest money in encouraging people to be active and to replace school furniture that is just too small for larger pupils. Council equipment and infrastructure is having to be modified to deal with a population that is getting larger and larger."