UK doctors have called for unity to stop rising obesity and serious health consequences before the NHS buckles under the pressure, a steering group has reported.
The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, representing 220,000 practising doctors, has published a report from the findings of research into tackling the obesity crisis.
It stated: "This report does not pretend to have all the answers. But it does say we need together to do more, starting right now, before the problem becomes worse and the NHS can no longer cope."
The 60-page document showed doctors across all four UK nations wanted to work together to tame the increasing number of overweight people and prevent health consequences such as; high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, strokes, depression, and some major cancers.
It makes ten recommendations that fall into three areas; actions to be taken by the healthcare professions; changing the "obesogenic" environment; and making the healthy choice the easy choice by looking at taxes on surgary drinks, for example.
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Professor Terence Stephenson, chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, said: "We suggest ten ideas that should be considered seriously. They need to be evaluated and, if they don't work, we need to explore other options.
"There is no single simple solution - if there was we wouldn't be in the position we are now. But this is no excuse for us to sit on our hands and do nothing."
The document states that the programme to tackle obesity has so far been "largely piecemeal" and "disappointingly ineffective" with the UK still facing a problem of epidemic proportions.
It added obesity was not the fault of any one government, organisation or individual but was is a problem that has crept up and must be tackled urgently through collective action.
The report stated: "Health policy can be slow to emerge even when evidence is strong. The lobbying opposition to intervention can be well-rehearsed when commercial interests are at stake.
"However, from first principles, obesity is both correctable for every affected individual, and potentially 100% preventable. In the real world, no intervention is ever 100% effective, and as doctors we have to accept that a 10% or 20% benefit rate is worth pursuing."
In the UK, almost a third of nine year olds are overweight or obese, and the figures for adults - currently just over a quarter of men and women - are on the rise.1
And financially obesity-related illnesses are costing the NHS an estimated £5.1bn a year.2
The Obesity Steering Group convened in early 2012 to begin its campaign.
