Parents must take responsibility if they and their children are fat rather than expect the Government to reduce the national obesity epidemic, the Health Secretary said today.

A third of all English adults, more than 12 million people, and a fifth of all children - around one million - will be obese by 2010, according to the latest statistics out today. A further 14 per cent of children will be classed as overweight.

The Forecasting Obesity to 2010 report said that girls were now overtaking boys, with 22 per cent of girls between the ages of 2 and 15 expected to be obese in 2010, compared with 19 per cent of boys in the same age group. In 2003 the proportions were 16 per cent and 17 per cent respectively.

Men are still fatter than women in adulthood, however, with a third (33 per cent) of all men predicted to be obese in 2010 compared to 28 per cent of women.

The report shows that the Government is likely to miss its 2010 target to halt the year-on-year rise in obesity among children under 11.

Today Patricia Hewitt insisted that the Government was doing what it could, but said it was up to individuals to take responsibility for their own health.

"In the old days, the big health challenges were infectious diseases like typhoid and TB, but these days our health depends much more on what we do for ourselves than on what the NHS does for us," said Ms Hewitt.

"That’s why each of us needs to think about how we can lead healthier lives.

"It might be as simple as cutting down on the number of take-aways we eat, saying no to that extra pint of beer, getting off the bus one stop earlier or walking our children to school - all small changes that can make big differences.

"People need to want to change their lifestyles and take responsibility for their health, before they face problems in later life such as coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes or cancer."

Social class made little difference to the obesity rate among men, with similar percentages of men in middle-class (non-manual) and manual households - 27 per cent of non-manual and 29 per cent of manual - rated as obese.

But there was a stark difference among women, with 18 per cent of women in middle-class households predicted to be obese compared to 28 per cent of those in manual households.

There were similar disparities among children, with 18 per cent of boys in non-manual households expected to be obese compared to 25 per cent in manual households.

The contrast was greatest among girls - 17 per cent of girls in non-manual households will be obese compared to 28 per cent of those living in non-manual households.

There were regional variations. Obesity is expected to be most extreme in Yorkshire and the Humber, where 39 per cent of men and 27 per cent of women will be obese by 2010. By comparison, in London and the South East - the slimmest region - 17 per cent of both men and women will be obese.

Fat appears to run in families, with a quarter of boys and just over a fifth of girls living with two overweight parents being obese themselves in 2003. This is expected to rise to 32 per cent of boys and 26 per cent of girls in 2010.

The effect is less marked where only one parent is overweight or obese, where in 2003 13 per cent of boys and 12 per cent of girls were obese. The percentages are expected to rise to 15 per cent and 20 per cent respectively in 2010.

Where neither parent is overweight or obese, just 5 per cent of boys and 4 per cent of girls are obese, going up to 7 per cent for both sexes in 2010.

Ofcom, the media regulator, is consulting on restricting junk food adverts, including during programmes aimed at children.

The trend in the UK is no different to that in many advanced countries, although the rise is steeper. Wherever prosperity beckons, overweight is not far behind. Only Japan and Korea seem so far to have bucked the trend.

Experts responded to the report by resigned acceptance. Tam Fry, a board member of the National Obesity Forum, said: “The obesity figures announced today are tragic but no-one should be surprised by them.

“The Government has been announcing for years what needs to be done to fight the nation’s fat - but then has done very little to achieve it."

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