68% of middle-aged men overweight in North East

Across the region 52% per cent of adults do less than the recommended 150 minutes of weekly exercise Credit: PA

People across the North East are being urged to take better care of their health after figures showed eight-out-of-ten middle aged adults weigh too much.

Public Health England (PHE) statistics reveal adults in the North East are above the national average when it comes to a number of risk factors, including rates of physical inactivity, obesity and smoking.

Across the region 52% per cent of adults do less than the recommended 150 minutes of weekly exercise, over 68% percent are overweight or obese, over 18% per cent smoke and 25% drink over 14 units per week.

Alongside these risk factors, Type 2 diabetes is also an area touched on by the “How Are You?” quiz, especially as people who are overweight are more at risk of developing the disease. Currently, 8.9 per cent of North East residents have diabetes, a figure which is forecast to jump to 9.7 per cent by 2035, unless more is done to improve peoples’ lifestyles.