§ Mr. BayleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of(a) men and (b) women in each regional health authority were obese in 1986–87 and in each year since then for which figures are available.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe data are not available centrally in the form requested.
However, information at national level has been published by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys. Figures derived from:
- (i) the "Dietary and Nutritional Survey of British Adults", published in "Health of the Nation: One Year On", show that in England in 1986–87, 7 per cent. of men and 12 per cent. of women aged between 16 and 64 were obese;
- (ii) the "Health Survey for England for 1992", using data for 1991 and 1992 combined, show that in England, 13 per cent of men and 15 per cent. of women aged between 16 and 54 were obese.
Information at below national level, in the format requested, will be available when data are published in 1995 in the "Health Survey for England for 1993".
Copies of these publications are available in the Library.