Obesity

Professional Adviser
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As the number of overweight people in the UK continues to increase, Karen Anderson explains how underwriters view obesity and its related health risks

Almost two thirds of adults in the UK are currently classed as overweight. If this trend continues, one in three people will be obese by 2020 and obesity will soon overtake smoking as the number one preventable cause of premature death. Another great concern is obesity in young children, which has doubled since the mid-80s with almost 8.5% of six-year olds and 15% of 15-year olds now classed as obese. By looking at the rapid rise of increased weight it can be predicted that by 2020 over half of all children will be classed as obese. And using these predictions it is believed that the cur...

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