Note: This dataset has been archived as of January 2024, as will not be made available to the public. Information that the data is ward-level aggregated which is volatile and easy to misinterpret the data and the level datasets are misleading if published. This data shows the percentage of adults (age 18 and over) classed as having Excess Weight. Excess Weight is a major cause of premature deaths and avoidable ill-health. Excess weight is a term used for overweight, which includes obesity. Excess weight is defined in adults as a BMI greater than or equal to 25kg/m2. The data is age-standardised, so differences in the population age structures of areas will not affect comparison of rates. This dataset shows estimates based on sample sizes that may be quite small particularly at district level, so not too much should not be read into apparent differences between districts which might not be statistically significant. Thus as with many other datasets, this data should be used together with other data and resources to obtain a fuller picture. Data source: Public Health England, Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF) indicator 2.12. This data is updated annually.

This data shows premature deaths (Age under 75) from Liver Disease, numbers and rates by gender, as 3-year moving-averages. Most liver disease is preventable and much is influenced by alcohol consumption and obesity prevalence, which are both amenable to public health interventions. Directly Age-Standardised Rates (DASR) are shown in the data (where numbers are sufficient) so that death rates can be directly compared between areas. The DASR calculation applies Age-specific rates to a Standard (European) population to cancel out possible effects on crude rates due to different age structures among populations, thus enabling direct comparisons of rates. A limitation on using mortalities as a proxy for prevalence of health conditions is that mortalities may give an incomplete view of health conditions in an area, as ill-health might not lead to premature death. Low numbers may result in zero values or missing data. Data source: Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF) indicator 40601 (E06a). The data is updated annually.

Obesity traits are causally implicated with risk of cardiometabolic diseases. It remains unclear whether there are similar causal effects of obesity traits on other non-communicable diseases. Also, it is largely unexplored whether there are any sex-specific differences in the causal effects of obesity traits on cardiometabolic diseases and other leading causes of death. We constructed sex-specific genetic risk scores (GRS) for three obesity traits; body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio (WHR), and WHR adjusted for BMI, including 565, 324, and 337 genetic variants, respectively. These GRSs were then used as instrumental variables to assess associations between the obesity traits and leading causes of mortality in the UK Biobank using Mendelian randomization. We also investigated associations with potential mediators, including smoking, glycemic and blood pressure traits. Sex-differences were subsequently assessed by Cochran’s Q-test (Phet). A Mendelian randomization analysis of 228,466 women and 195,041 men showed that obesity causes coronary artery disease, stroke (particularly ischemic), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, type 2 and 1 diabetes mellitus, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, chronic liver disease, and acute and chronic renal failure. Higher BMI led to higher risk of type 2 diabetes in women than in men (Phet = 1.4×10−5). Waist-hip-ratio led to a higher risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Phet = 3.7×10−6) and higher risk of chronic renal failure (Phet = 1.0×10−4) in men than women. Obesity traits have an etiological role in the majority of the leading global causes of death. Sex differences exist in the effects of obesity traits on risk of type 2 diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and renal failure, which may have downstream implications for public health.