Personal and economic impacts of obesity

A new report has highlighted the economic impact that obesity can have on an economy, having found that obesity in Scotland can cost the country as much as £4.6 billion every year.
In 2013, almost two thirds (64.6 per cent) of people in Scotland were overweight, and 27.1 per cent reported to be obese.
Putting the personal traumas and conditions that can develop as a result of being an unhealthy weight aside for the moment, the Scottish parliament is worried about the strain that obesity puts on the economy.
Research by the McKinsey Global Institute has estimated that each year, the economic risks to Scotland as a whole could range anywhere up to £4.6 billion. This is through the costs of treating obesity complications on the NHS, the loss of productivity due to people dying younger or having a lower quality of life, and the costs that it takes to try and reduce the impacts obesity has.
When translated to a global level, it is thought that obesity could be costing the planet $1.3 trillion again, according to the McKinsey Global Institute, and in the UK, it is thought to have an impact equivalent to 3% of the GDP of the country.
And most of all, being overweight can wreck lives on a personal level. Type 2 diabetes can develop as a result of obesity, which can lead to a diverse set of complications including amputation and blindness.
All these are good reasons to consider your weight and see if you can do more to live healthily. Just incorporating a short bit of exercise into your everyday life, such as parking the car further from your destination and walking, can make a big change.