Even if you keep fit and exercise regularly, you can't beat obesity if you can't control eating sugar and carbs.
According to the researchers, it's the bad diet, not physical inactivity, behind the surge in obesity. Regular exercise is key to staving off serious disease, such as diabetes, heart disease, and dementia, but our calorie laden diets now generate more ill health than physical inactivity, alcohol, and smoking combined.
The evidence now suggests that up to 40 percent of those within a normal weight (BMI) range will none the less harbour harmful metabolic abnormalities typically associated with obesity.
The authors said that celebrity endorsement of sugary drinks and the association of junk food and sport must end, adding that health clubs and gyms need to set an example by removing the sale of these products from their premises.
The food environment needs to be changed so that people automatically make healthy choices, suggest the authors. This "will have far greater impact on population health than counselling or education. Healthy choice must become the easy choice," they say.
The researchers concluded by saying that it was time to wind back the harms caused by the junk food industry's public relations machinery.
The study is published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.