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The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) have released new statistics which reveal that the proportion of adults classified as overweight or obese in England appears to have increased significantly over the last decade. Recent findings from the Nuffield Trust have also suggested that the levels of obesity could rise yet further, and that by 2034 approximately 70 percent of adults in England could be classified as either overweight or obese. With many health impacts reportedly linked to obesity—such as an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes or coronary heart disease—the current cost to the National Health Service of this issue is estimated to be around £5 billion every year. It has also been suggested that this annual cost could rise to £9.7 billion by 2050.

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