Obesity could be as big a crisis as climate change unless Britons start to lose weight soon, UK Health Secretary Alan Johnson warned yesterday.

He said tackling obesity was a long-term central plank of government policy, but all segments of society must play their part.

Johnson has asked the Food Standards Agency to look at the use of trans fats and their contribution to increased cholesterol and the subsequent risk of coronary heart disease.

The investigation will look at what the food industry can do to reduce the use of trans fats, a type of unsaturated fat.

The government will also launch a program under which selected London doctors will give advice and support on physical activity to men and women who lead sedentary lifestyles.

"For the first time, we are clear about the magnitude of the problem: We are facing a potential crisis on the scale of climate change, and it is in everybody's interest to turn things round," he said.

A government-commissioned report by Foresight, being published next week, predicts that 60 percent of men and 40 percent of women could be clinically obese by 2050. In 2005, a report showed that 21.2 percent of men and 21.5 percent of women were classified as obese.

(Agencies via Shanghai Daily October 15, 2007)