A GROWING number of adults in Dorset are misjudging their health and weight, a new report has revealed.

Less than half of adults in the South West have a healthy weight, with 23 per cent being obese – significantly above the UK average.

The majority of adults also fail to eat their five-a-day or do enough exercise – because it’s ‘boring’ or ‘hard work’ – the second edition of Aviva’s Health Check UK Report shows.

Sixty-two per cent of adults in Dorset are obese or overweight- but many do not recognise their weight as a problem, or realise the impact it could have on their health.

“This failure to look after our health has serious implications not just for individual health and wellbeing but also for the infrastructure of the health service, which has to cope with an increasing number of obesity-related illnesses,” said Mark Noble, managing director of health and group risk at Aviva.

A quarter of adults in the region consume five or more shots of caffeine a day and are more likely to eat chocolate or crisps on a daily basis.

And, as reported previously in the Echo, around a quarter of five year olds in Dorset have tooth decay and almost one in ten are obese.

Dr Mark Noble, Aviva’s medical director, added: “When it comes to taking individual responsibly for their health, many do not feel they have the time or energy to exercise or eat well.

"It must also be said that a large number do not have the inclination to change their bad habits.

“This ‘head in the sand’ attitude is placing a huge strain on the NHS, […] while the majority of people believe we all need to look after our own health to make sure the NHS can cope.

"The lack of exercise and poor diets show people are not practising what they preach.”

Just two per cent of adults who are aware they are overweight or obese have sought advice from their GP and the number of overweight or obese people in the South West who actually want to improve their health is lower than the UK average.

The report also found that a significant number are failing to carry out vital self-checks for the signs of cancer.