Obesity - A recipe for disaster

We will all have seen the numerous articles in the press over recent years about the obesity epidemic and rising numbers of people undergoing gastric surgery in an attempt to lose weight. This trend has ramifications for protection business and has underwriting implications. Since 1980, the number of obese people in the UK has nearly tripled. There are now 2% of UK adults severely (morbidly) obese with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of more than 40. Studies published in The Lancet in 2009 suggested that a BMI between 30 and 35 reduced the life expectancy of individuals by two to four years, whi...