Being overweight is becoming the new "normal," according to England’s chief medical officer.
The majority of adults are now overweight and parents do not recognise that children are overweight, according to Chief Medical Officer Professor Dame Sally Davies.
She said many people who are overweight believe they are "about right" while the adoption of larger mannequins in clothes shops was also normalising excessive weight.
Her annual report also objects to depiction of excessive drinking in popular media as "normal."
One study of TV soap operas found 162 instances of this in six weeks – but in fact just 25% of people ever drink too much, Dame Sally said.
In her report Dame Sally calls for food manufacturers to achieve dramatic reductions in sugar levels, backing the idea of a sugar tax if this fails.
She said yesterday: "I have long been concerned that being underweight is often portrayed as the ideal weight, particularly in the fashion industry.
"Yet I am increasingly concerned that society may be normalising being overweight."
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