UCL Division of Medicine


Health inequalities and obesity

10 November 2020

Professor Rachel Batterham, RCP special adviser on obesity, explores the link between health inequalities and obesity.

Obesity is a complex and often progressive chronic disease, characterised by excess body fat (adiposity) that impairs health. Obesity increases the chances of a person developing several life-limiting diseases including heart disease, type 2 diabetes and several types of cancer, that can lead to reduced quality of life and ultimately to premature death. Scientific advances have shown that the drivers of weight gain are complicated and vary from person to person but include genetic make-up, biological and social factors, the latter being markedly influenced by health inequalities.   Read more