SEVEN in ten men are now classed as fat — as the number of overweight people continues to rise.
Some 64.5 per cent of English adults were overweight or obese last year, figures state.
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That was a 0.5 per cent increase on 2023 — equivalent to around an extra 220,000 people.
The total has gradually crept up since data was first collated in 2015, when it was 61 per cent.
For men the rate is now 69.7 per cent, compared to 59.2 per cent for women, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities said.
But it found the proportion of physically active people is rising.
Women were less likely to exercise than men, but likelier to get their five daily portions of fruit and veg.
Carrying too much flab can lead to type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
A recent study warned an estimated 50million Brits will be fat by 2050 — up from the current 36.8million — costing the NHS £10billion per year.
Katharine Jenner of the Obesity Health Alliance said: “Successive governments have missed countless opportunities to turn the tide and we urge the current one not to make the same mistake.”
The Government plans to ban junk food ads on daytime TV and online from October.
The Department of Health said: “We will shift the focus from sickness to prevention, reducing the burden of obesity on public services and the NHS.”
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