The bar chart compares the proportions of people who were overweight across seven different age groups in the UK in 2010.
Overall, the percentage of overweight people generally increased with age, reaching its highest level among those aged 45-54, before declining slightly in the two oldest age groups. By contrast, people aged 0-15 recorded by far the lowest proportion.
Looking first at the younger age groups, only 15% of people aged 0-15 were overweight. This figure doubled to 30% among those aged 16-24 and then rose considerably to 50% for the 25-34 age group. The upward pattern continued among people aged 35-44, of whom 65% were classified as overweight.
The highest proportion was recorded among 45-54-year-olds, at 70%. After this peak, however, the figures declined moderately with age. Approximately 68% of those aged 55-64 were overweight, which was only two percentage points lower than the peak. Among people aged 65 and over, the proportion fell further to 60%, although this was still four times the figure recorded for the youngest age group.
