Obesity, and its impact on health, is rarely out of the headlines these days. But if you think it’s something that only overweight people should be concerned about, think again – it’s predicted that 50 per cent of the UK population could be obese by 2050, with a cost just short of £50 billion a year.

Tam Fry, a trustee of the National Obesity Forum (NOF) and chairman of the Child Growth Foundation, thinks the prediction is “frightening – and the loss to the exchequer even more frightening.”

It’s the NHS which will feel the bulk of this bill.

Between 1993 and 2011, obesity rates rose from 13 per cent to 24 per cent in men, and from 16 per cent to 26 per cent for women, and 2011-2012 figures revealed that up to 20 per cent of children are in the obese category. Figures are even higher for people in the ‘overweight’ range – 65 per cent of men and 58 per cent of women – and it’s already costing the National Health Service more than £6 billion annually.

This is largely due to that fact that our rising weight’s matched by stark rises in diseases (many of which are among the most common killers) like heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, including breast, bowel and kidney cancer.

Last summer, Lord McColl, former director of surgery at Guy’s Hospital, warned Parliament that not only is obesity “killing millions” but the epidemic’s “bankrupting the NHS.”

Tam Fry and the NOF, an independent organisation of professionals from various fields, with the shared interest of tackling and treating obesity, think the figures alone should be enough to make people sit up and take notice.

On paper, obesity should be a simple problem to solve. As Fry points out: “The rise [in obesity] is happening because, principally, the food we’re eating is less than healthy and we’re not exercising to burn it off. If you eat well and exercise, you will more than likely maintain a healthy weight. But if you eat badly and don’t exercise, the reverse will be the situation.”

In reality, it’s not that simple. In fact, far from it – otherwise we wouldn’t be in the situation we’re in.

For people who are already overweight, often there are emotional and psychological challenges and barriers to overcome – just changing what you eat and how often you exercise can be a far more complex task than it sounds.

According to the World Health Organisation, individual responsibility works best when people have access to a healthy lifestyle and are supported to make healthy choices.

This means making exercise and eating well accessible and affordable to everybody – and communicating effectively to get the right messages across.