Kent Obesity Problem

Two Kent boroughs have been revealed as having some of the worst obesity rates in the country.

Figures compiled by the Department of Health show 30.2% or nearly 1 in 3 adults are obese in Swale, and 30% are dangerously overweight in Medway.

Only Tamworth and Gateshead came out worse in the study which pooled together data from health authorities, schools and hospitals.

Obesity rates have tripled in England in the last 20 years, with an average of 23% of adults across the country now considered obese according to the Body Mass Index or BMI.

It divides a person's weight in kilograms by the square of their height in metres. A person whose BMI falls in between 25 and 29.9 is considered to be overweight. While a person with a BMI of 30 or above means is seen as obese.

The Department of Health says the level of obesity in Swale and Medway is predicted to be the average level in Britain by 2030.