Public health responses to obesity in the United Kingdom: A critical evaluation of campaigns and policy directions (1990-2025)

Obesity, defined by the World Health Organisation as excessive fat accumulation impairing health, has become a major global public health issue. By 2022, one in eight people worldwide were living with obesity, a figure projected to rise to one in four by 2035. The United Kingdom (UK) mirrors these trends, with obesity rates continuing to escalate, particularly among children. This ethnographic study explores obesity prevention strategies and health communication campaigns in the UK from 1990 to 2025, combining policy analysis with in-depth interviews with 35 adults across the UK. Findings indicate that the implemented campaigns have been effective in raising public awareness; however, their impact has neither been equitably distributed across different segments of society nor sustained over the long term. Although obesity prevention policies and campaigns implemented in the UK have, at times, demonstrated innovation and contributed to raising public awareness, these strategies have predominantly centred on behavioural change, while social policies and regulatory measures capable of addressing structural inequalities have been largely neglected. The study concludes that effective obesity prevention requires not only behavioural messaging but also long-term, equity-oriented policy reform that addresses social determinants and holds commercial actors accountable.