The isles of Scotland, valleys of Wales and parts of the South East have the biggest concentrations of overweight people in the country, according to a new map of obesity in Britain.

The map, created using data from doctors’ surgeries, shows that more than one in ten patients is obese in some parts of the country. The Shetland Isles have the highest proportion, with 15.5 per cent being obese.

Researchers said that the problem may be getting worse when compared with a similar chart for England brought out two years ago. Although a different methodology was used, researchers said that the latest map revealed obesity in previously unexpected areas. Hotspots include Bexley Care Trust in London, where 9.1 per cent are obese, Barking and Dagenham Primary Care Trust (PCT) where 9.3 per cent are obese, and Medway PCT in Kent where 9.4 per cent are obese. In the North East, Wakefield District PCT has 9.3 per cent, Doncaster PCT 10.1, and Barnsley PCT 10.8 per cent.

Government figures suggest that two thirds of adults and a third of children are obese or overweight. If trends are not reversed, this could rise to almost nine in ten adults and two thirds of children by 2050, putting them at serious risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

Alex Young, a manager at Dr Foster Research, which produced the map, said: “Urban areas might be dealing with the problem more effectively but in the outlying regions it seems to be getting worse, places like Newport, Plymouth, St Davids, Stockport.”

In outlying areas health services may be less available, while in a city services were better, he said.

Low rates of obese patients encountered by GPs in some areas could be explained by their reluctance to access health services.

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