The 'Health at a Glance 2015' report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) compares the quality of healthcare in 34 countries and found the UK falls behind in a number of areas.
A quarter of adults (25%) in the UK are classed as obese, according to the report, well over the OECD average of 19%. The report also calls for urgent attention to tackle the UK’s high rates of smoking and harmful alcohol consumption.
However the situation is far worse for childhood obesity as the UK ranks second worst for the problem, after Greece. The average overweight rates amongst children are 24% for boys and 22% for girls, but the UK has rates of around 35% for both genders.
The UK is also above average for harmful levels of alcohol consumption as each person sinks almost 10 litres of alcohol per year, above the OECD average 8.9 litres.
The report also found the quality of care in the UK was ‘poor to mediocre’ and that the NHS was under ‘financial strain’ as it saw zero growth in health spending per person between 2009 and 2013.
In order to match standards elsewhere in the developed world, the NHS would need to recruit 47,700 nurses and 26,500 doctors, costing around £5 billion.
The report follows calls for a sugar tax to be implemented across the UK and NHS chief executive Simon Stevens calling on the health body to put it’s ‘own house in order’.