Obese people outnumber smokers two to one

New figures from Cancer Research UK show that people who are obese now outnumber people who smoke two to one in the UK.

The charity is urging the government to take immediate action to tackle obesity, arguing that excess weight also causes more cases of certain cancers than smoking.

While smoking is still the nation’s biggest preventable cause of cancer and carries a much higher risk of the disease than obesity, Cancer Research UK says that almost a third of UK adults are obese and that being overweight or obese trumps smoking as the leading cause of four different types of cancer - bowel, kidney, ovary and liver.

Cancer Research UK has recently launched a nationwide campaign to increase awareness of the link between obesity and cancer. Extra body fat sends out signals that can tell cells to divide more often and, similar to smoking, can cause damage that builds up over time and raises the risk of cancer

Michelle Mitchell, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, said: "As smoking rates fall and obesity rates rise, we can clearly see the impact on a national health crisis when the government puts policies in place – and when it puts its head in the sand.   Our children could be a smoke-free generation, but we’ve hit a devastating record high for childhood obesity, and now we need urgent government intervention to end the epidemic. They still have a chance to save lives.

"Scientists have so far identified that obesity causes 13 types of cancer but the mechanisms aren’t fully understood. So further research is needed to find out more about the ways extra body fat can lead to cancer."