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Supersize Britain, Ross Chainey, Health Editor (MSN)

A report out today sheds devastating light on the extent of the UK's obesity epidemic.

The figures show that 12 million adults and one million children will be obese in four years time unless urgent action is taken. We examine the new figures and the reasons why Britain is bursting at the seams.

Britain is getting bigger, and not just because the population has grown to 60 million for the first time. A report published today by the Department of Health is predicting that about a third of adults and a fifth of all children will be obese by 2010.

The statistics, from the Health Survey for England, also show how a total of 22% of girls and 19% of boys aged between two and 15 will be regarded as obese in four years, meaning the government will have missed its target to halt the spread of childhood obesity. Meanwhile, a third of all men will be obese, a figure rising from four to seven million in the next four years. In total, 38% of the population is expected to be obese by the end of the decade.

The grim predictions will also mean more people suffering from obesity related diseases such as cancer, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The cost of obesity to the NHS is also expected to rise above its current £1 billion.

The news comes just days after the government appointed a 'minister for fitness'. Public Health minister Caroline Flint has been charged with getting people to raise their physical activity levels in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics. Flint also wants to get millions of sedentary people to take up activities such as cycling and walking as well as encouraging motorists to ditch their cars and travel by bike or on foot.

The obesity time bomb

The Department of Health's report has prompted health campaigners to call for urgent action.

Maura Gillespie, head of policy and public affairs at the British Heart Foundation, said: "These figures are no surprise to us - we are rapidly becoming a nation bursting at the seams. We are all going to have to work together to curb these figures and the risk to our nation's health."

The rapid rise in the number of people with type 2 diabetes, the type linked to being overweight, is one of the most worrying knock-on effects of the UK's obesity epidemic. Douglas Smallwood, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: "Not all people with diabetes are overweight, but at diagnosis 80% of those diagnosed with type 2 diabetes were overweight. If obesity rates continue to rise at such a rapid rate the number of deaths due to diabetes will increase in line with this.

"This is not to mention the blindness, amputations and strokes which the condition can also lead to. We're delighted to see the commitment voiced by the government on tackling this huge problem. But we want to see these words turned into actions."

Why is Britain changing shape?

There are a number of reasons why people in the UK are getting bigger. Bad diet and inactivity is undoubtedly leading to higher levels of obesity. A lot of the food we eat is laden with fat, sugar and salt, and we are eating too much of it. Anything over and above the daily dietary requirements can lead to weight gain.

But another problem is the fact that we are eating larger portions than ever before. A great deal of the blame for this is levelled at the fast food industry, with the launch of McDonald's Bigger Big Mac and Burger King's Quad Stacker burger (which has more than the daily allowance of calories in one sandwich) the kind of thing that gets almost daily criticism. However, in many cases we are just serving ourselves too much food.

According to Cancer Research UK: "In the last few decades, the portion sizes of food sold in shops and served in restaurants has grown tremendously. A study by the Word Cancer Research Fund found that burgers have doubled in size since 1980. And pasta servings are about five times larger.

"Larger portions set up a vicious cycle. People who eat larger meals are used to seeing bigger portions of foods and get stuck in the habit of eating lots of calories that they don't burn off. Research has shown that people eat more if they are given a larger portion of food than they would normally have. You can't always rely on your body to register all those extra calories and adjust your appetite throughout the day.

"To stop yourself putting more weight on and maybe lose some weight, you will need to keep an eye on the amount of food you eat and think about cutting it down."

Some tips for striking a healthy balance with portion sizes:

Cheese is extremely high in fat but is also an excellent source of calcium. A sensible portion size of cheese is about the size of a box of matches (or about two ounces), not half a wheel of brie. Similarly, about one cup of yoghurt or milk counts as a single portion.

Pasta is a primary source of carbohydrates, which are great if you're doing a lot of exercise. If not, however, you need to be extra careful with your portion size. If you are preparing potatoes, rice or pasta, a portion should be about the size of a grapefruit, or about half a cup. One slice of bread equals a portion.

Two to three ounces of meat, poultry or fish is a portion. Another good way to remember this is to compare it to a pack of playing cards.

We're always told to eat our five-a-day, but what counts as one portion? According to the Department of Health, "Fresh, frozen, chilled, canned, 100% juice and dried fruit and vegetables all count. One portion of fruit is, for example, half a large grapefruit, a slice of melon or two satsumas. A glass of 100% juice counts as one portion, but you can only count juice as one portion a day, however much you drink." For vegetables, "One portion is three tablespoonfuls of cooked carrots or peas or sweetcorn, or one cereal bowl of mixed salad." Potatoes don't count towards five-a-day because they are too starchy.

Looking to the future

Another major cause of the obesity epidemic is the nation's growing distaste for physical exercise, and it will be the minister for fitness' responsibility to change this. As well as fighting obesity, taking regular exercise can reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and high blood pressure. Adults are recommended to do 30 minutes of moderate activity five times a week, children an hour a day.

Perhaps the most worrying figures among the data to be released by the Department of Health are those relating to childhood obesity, particularly as the UK prepares to host the Olympic Games in 2012.

One person particularly concerned about the rise in childhood obesity is Anne Cantelo, the founder of a Birmingham-based initiative called Fit Future, which works to improve the health of teenagers.

Cantelo told MSN Health what she thinks should be done to tackle childhood obesity. "The government's plans are right to an extent. However, I think it's a case of the brain being willing but they have not made it compelling for children and teenagers," she said. "People will do what they want to do, and kids are the worst for that. Take the traffic light food labelling system, for example, kids will just see that and eat red!
"Four years is a long time for children, and they won't care how healthy they are going to be then. You can't just nag them into eating properly and exercising more."

Cantelo also believes parents need to play a part in maintaining the health of their children. "There is a laziness to some parents," she said, "as the idea of shopping for fresh ingredients and cooking a meal seems like a real hassle. Many parents are also too scared to let their children play in the street and they therefore spend too much time in a car. The truth is their kids are at more danger in a car."

She added that too much emphasis has been placed on encouraging people to improve their diet, and not enough on encouraging them to do more exercise. She said: "The obesity epidemic has crept up on us. There is a misconception that children are eating more, but it's also because they don't exercise enough. Fitness should be a bigger issue, especially with the Olympics coming up. With sport, there should be something for everyone and we should be there to motivate them rather than just feeding them lots of information."

Top tips for healthy living

• Eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
• Eat a balanced diet and stick to the guideline daily amounts, which are 2000 calories a day for women and 2500 for men, 70g of fat for women and 95g for men and about 6g of salt for both men and women.
• Avoid particularly fatty or sugary foods.
• Exercise regularly.
• Eat sensible portion sizes.
• Drink alcohol in moderation.