Fat is a financial issue. Obesity is not only becoming the number one health issue facing Britain, it is also beginning to make its impact felt when the rotund and the tubby apply for financial products.
Premiums for life insurance cover can be twice as high for the seriously obese compared with their fitter counterparts, while critical illness, private medical insurance and income replacement plan providers will all charge more.
Take the example of a 35-year-old male who is 5ft 8 and 12 stones. His "body mass index" is within the standard guidelines, and he can expect to be charged standard rates for life insurance. Norwich Union says his life cover would cost £8.60 per month.
But if our Mr Average starts putting on the pounds, the same will go for his insurance policy. Once he reaches 16 stones, then the cost of cover goes up 20% to £10.80 per month.
However, as our Mr Average approaches the size of someone like Rik Waller, star of Pop Idol, then the premiums bulge out dramatically. Norwich Union would charge a 20-stone 35-year-old male £19 per month for cover, or nearly twice the rate charged to someone of average body mass. The massively overweight may be refused cover altogether.
Tony Jupp, chief underwriter for Norwich Union says: "The incidence of obesity in the UK is on the rise. Over time, this may lead to fewer people being able to benefit from standard rates of life cover, unless they embrace a change in lifestyle. This is because the increased medical risks associated with obesity have to be reflected in the level of premium charged."
The Government has warned that obesity in the UK is growing so rapidly that 1 in 5 men and 1 in 4 women will have the condition by 2005. As well as increasing risk of heart disease, hypertension, cancer and diabetes, ultimately, obesity can cause an early death.
Obese people die nine years earlier than their lean counterparts and the condition now claims 30,000 lives annually in England.
"Obesity is quickly taking over smoking as Britain's top preventable killer and will leave life assurance companies little choice but to increase the cost of life cover in the next few years", warns Philippa Gee, investment strategist at brokers Torquil Clark.
"I am in no doubt that obesity will be one of the most significant impacts on the life assurance market in the next decade," she adds.
Insurers use body mass index tables to determine whether an applicant should be charged extra premiums. To calculate your body mass
Work out your height in metres and multiply the figure by itself.
Measure your weight in kilograms
Divide the weight by the height squared.
If your body mass index is 20 to 25, then your weight is classifed as "desirable". Over 25 to 30 is overweight, while anything above 30 is regarded as obese. Over 40 and you are "morbidly or severely overweight."
Medical insurer Bupa also takes obesity into account when underwriting life, critical illness and income protection products. A spokeswoman says: "The increase in subscription for our products is usually in proportion to the level of obesity - that is, the lower the applicant's BMI, then the lower the cost is likely to be.
"We do, however, take into account other factors - for example, how the weight is distributed, general level of fitness, whether or not the client smokes, blood pressure/cholesterol levels and family history."
On private medical insurance, most people are covered on company schemes which are not individually underwritten, so the obese will not face any extra costs.
What's more, Bupa says individual applicants will only be charged extra for PMI if their obesity is linked to other existing medical conditions.
"However the person has to be seriously overweight, and the increase in premium is a small percentage, nothing like a doubling or a tripling in premiums."
Bupa prefers to focus on proactive weight-loss strategies to deal with the obesity issue. Two years ago it purchased a company, Lighten Up, which takes a long-term approach to weight management through nutrition, motivation and exercise.
"It is a programme that gets away from diets and other fads which are generally ineffective," says Dr Macdonald.
But if you cannot shake off the weight, there is at least one financial benefit that comes with obesity; a better pension. Individuals who are seriously obese can obtain an "impaired life annuity" which pays a much higher monthly income than other annuities.
But the sting in the tail is that the insurer will only pay out more because it believes you are going to die sooner rather than later.
Who to call
www.tqonline.co.uk offers a life insurance quote system or you can call Torquil Clark on 0800 072 3186.
