A national obesity strategy would help strengthen existing services and replicate best practice across the country, according to a new report.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Obesity has found nearly nine out of ten obese people who took part in their survey have been victimised because of their weight. Only around a third have accessed any lifestyle or prevention services to help them lose weight.
The report also calls on the Government to investigate whether obesity should be classified as a disease in the UK, and commission the development of a peer-reviewed cost benefit analysis of earlier intervention and treatment of people with obesity.
Local authority leaders warned cuts to public health grants had affected council's ability to tackle childhood obesity.
Cllr Izzi Seccombe, chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: 'Today's obese children will be tomorrow's obese adults, and with this comes a range of costly and debilitating major health conditions that could bankrupt adult social care and NHS services.
Successfully tackling obesity involves both individuals taking responsibility for their own decisions and government supporting them to do so.
'Without action, the health of individuals will continue to suffer, health inequalities associated with obesity will remain and the economic and social costs will increase to unsustainable levels.'
