More than a third of Wolverhampton adults are obese
More than a third of adults in part of the region are obese, shocking figures have revealed.
Wolverhampton has the highest rate of overweight people in the region, with 34 per cent of the city's population classified as obese.
Council bosses said high deprivation and unemployment rates were partly to blame.
Ros Jervis, Wolverhampton's director of public health, said major changes to work patterns, transport, food production and food sales had radically altered society over the past five decades, resulting in many people putting on weight and retaining it.
She added: "Wolverhampton has a high level of deprivation as well as high unemployment rates, and there is clear evidence that people who are socially and economically disadvantaged are more vulnerable to obesity."
In Sandwell, 28.6 per cent of people are classified as obese, and 26 per cent in the Walsall area.
Stafford Borough council says 26 per cent of its adults are obese while one in five, or 21 per cent, are obese in Dudley.
Obesity among adults in Sandwell is one per cent up on last year, although the figure has fallen slightly among children.
Around £250,000 was spend on child and adult weight management services in the year 2012/2013.
Councillor Paul Moore, who is Sandwell's cabinet member for health, said: "Research demonstrates that a variety of factors can influence weight gain."
