10M JUNK FOOD ADDICTS COSTING BRITAIN BILLIONS

DOCTORS want drastic action to combat the obesity crisis that has 10 million hooked on junk food, costing the NHS £58billion a year.

- Giles Sheldrick

They are calling for food addiction to be classed as dangerous as drink and drugs misuse.

The culprit is so-called ultraprocessed food, blamed for killer conditions that put the UK among the sickest nations.

Cancer expert Professor Karol Sikora said: "Walk down any high street in Britain and the obesity epidemic is staring you in the face."

The most problematic foods for those with symptoms of addiction are pizza, chocolate, crisps, biscuits and ice cream. Yet, despite growing evidence, food addiction has not been classified as a harmful disorder.

Leading medics and nutritionists will gather at an international conference in London next month. It is part of the first concerted campaign to make the World Health Organisation categorise addiction to ultraprocessed food as a substance use disorder similar to cocaine, opioid, nicotine and alcohol misuse. The International Food Addiction Consensus Conference comes amid mounting fears that diets of industrially made sugarrich foods are responsible for an explosion in obesity, mental illhealth and chronic illness.