About a million people in England are putting themselves at risk of dying early because they are overweight and combine drinking too much and smoking, research has found.
The “triple threat” disproportionately raises their risk of diseases including cancer, heart disease, stroke, Type-2 diabetes, liver disease and mental health conditions, experts warn.
One doctor said the combination may cut 20 years from someone’s life.
Analysis of a Health Survey for England by charity Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) found that 22 per cent of adults in England – at least 10 million people – have two or more of the three risk factors.
About 2 per cent – a million adults – fall into all three categories.
Public-health experts warned two years ago that high levels of obesity, excessive drinking and health inequalities were costing the economy £15bn a year.
Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, chairman of the Alcohol Health Alliance, said each of the three habits carried a risk, but when combined the danger is exaggerated.
“These poor health outcomes are not only avoidable, but they also place a huge and growing strain on the NHS and our economy,” he said.
“We urgently need a joined-up approach to public health policymaking that tackles these issues together, rather than in isolation, if we are to see the much-needed governmental shift from sickness to prevention.”
The combined effects of smoking, drinking and being overweight are often greater than the sum of individual risks, studies have shown.
The new analysis of 2021 data also found that:
● 5.9 million people (13 per cent of adults) have factors of being overweight or obesity and drinking
● 2.5 million (6 per cent of adults) are overweight or obese and smoke
● 0.6 million (1 per cent of adults) drink and smoke without being overweight
Prof Gilmore, a former president of the Royal College of Physicians, told The Guardian it was likely that smoking, grade three obesity and heavy drinking would reduce life expectancy by at least 20 years.
Katharine Jenner, director of the Obesity Health Alliance, said: “These are not issues of individual behaviour, but issues of industry behaviour or tactics.
“Behind the statistics on smoking, alcohol and unhealthy food-related disease lie multi-million-pound industries that operate in darkly similar ways – producing, marketing and selling products that damage our wellbeing.
“The government will not be able to meet its ambition of shifting from prevention to treatment until it recognises this.”
Caroline Cerny, the deputy chief executive of Ash, said the government’s forthcoming 10-year plan was an opportunity to “get a firm grip on the causes of ill health that are shortening the lives of people and placing a huge strain on the NHS”.
She called for targets to cut smoking, drinking and excess weight, introducing minimum-unit pricing of alcohol in England and extending the sugar tax.
Health secretary Wes Streeting is next week due to unveil his 10-year plan for the NHS, aimed at tackling inequalities through fundamental reforms, and measures such as sending health workers door-to-door.
People will be urged to monitor their own health with technology such as smart watches that monitor blood pressure and glucose levels.
The Department of Health and Social Care was approached for comment but a spokesperson told The Guardian ministers were committed to tackling obesity through a ban on the advertising of junk food on television before 9pm and a planned new food strategy.
They also an extra £310m had been put to treatment of drug and alcohol addiction, while the Tobacco and Vapes Bill phases out the sale of cigarettes.
