England: 28% adults obese, 36% overweight

The House of Commons Library updated its obesity statistics briefing on May 19, 2026, and the headline figure did not move: 28% of adults in England are obese. The parliamentary research service also said a further 36% of adults in England are overweight, citing the 2022 Health Survey for England. Together, those figures mean nearly two-thirds of adults in England were above a healthy weight range under the body mass index measure used in the briefing. The Library’s page says the paper covers obesity among adults and children across the UK, while the England adult figures come from the Health Survey for England. ### Where do the 28% and 36% figures come from? The 2022 Health Survey for England is the source cited by the Commons Library for those adult estimates. The briefing says 28% of adults in England were obese and a further 36% were overweight. It also says men were more likely than women to be overweight or obese, at 67% of men compared with 61% of women. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk) The Commons Library says obesity is usually defined as a body mass index, or BMI, of 30 or above. In the structure used by the briefing, “overweight” and “obese” are listed separately, which is why the two percentages are presented side by side rather than as a single category. ### Is this a new surge in obesity, or an updated parliamentary briefing? (commonslibrary.parliament.uk) The May 19, 2026 change appears to be an update to the Commons Library webpage rather than a newly released national survey. The search record for the briefing shows it was originally published on February 10, 2025, and crawled again today. The top-line England adult figures shown in the current version are still tied to the 2022 Health Survey for England. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk) The House of Commons Library is the UK Parliament’s research and information service, according to its website. Its briefings are written to give MPs and the public an overview of statistics, legislation and policy background rather than to announce new government targets. ### What else does the parliamentary material say about obesity policy? A separate Commons Library briefing, “Obesity policy in England,” says it provides an overview of the UK government’s work on preventing and reducing obesity in England. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk) The Library says that work has, in recent years, primarily focused on reducing obesity prevalence in children. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk) The policy material sits alongside other Commons Library briefings on related subjects, including weight-loss medicines in England and advertising of high fat, salt and sugar food and drink to children. The weight-loss medicines briefing says it focuses on the availability of newer medicines on the NHS in England, while the advertising briefing says restrictions on certain less healthy food and drink advertising were delayed to January 5, 2026. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk) ### Why does the update matter now? The Commons Library update puts a fresh parliamentary timestamp on figures that continue to be used in policy debates about prevention, treatment and NHS demand. The same Library site has recently published or updated related health briefings, including work on the government’s 10 Year Health Plan for England and on NHS access issues, showing obesity remains part of a wider health-policy agenda in Westminster. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk) The next step for readers is straightforward: the obesity statistics briefing and the separate “Obesity policy in England” briefing are both available on the Commons Library website, where the pages link onward to source documents, policy papers and related analysis. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk 1) (commonslibrary.parliament.uk 2)