IT’S a growing epidemic that is costing health and council bosses millions of pound a year.

But now it has been revealed that Southampton and Hampshire will have less money to fight the south’s massive obesity problem after government cuts in funding.

Health bosses say the cuts mean they will have to slim down the amount of cash they plough into fighting obesity.

It comes after Southampton was named as the seventh fattest city in the UK earlier this year.

The Health and Social Care Information Centre found about 65 per cent of adults in Southampton are estimated to be overweight or obese.

Less than 25 per cent of adults participate in the recommended 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise three times a week.

Figures from the Local Government Association (LGA), which represents more than 370 councils, including Southampton, show they are forecast to spend £127 million in 2016/17 on obesity.

That is down from their estimated spend of £140 million in 2015/16.

The LGA said the government has reduced the public health grant by £331 million from 2016/17 to 2020/21.

Health bosses in the city have said that they getting about £1.5 million less from the government to fight obesity in Southampton.

Cllr Dave Shields, Southampton’s cabinet member for health and sustainable living, below, said: “We are not getting enough money and it has been made worse because in the last budget George Osborne actually cut the amount of money the council gets for public health.

Daily Echo: Councillor David Shields, Southampton City Counciil's Cabinet member for health

“We do have an issue, particularly with childhood obesity, which we do desperately need to fight and we would like to do a lot more.

“We have had about £1.5 million cut from our public health budget and I would have made sure a good proportion of that went to fight obesity and obesity in children.

“Now if we want to invest that money we will have to find that somewhere else when everything else is under pressure.”

Programmes in the city to combat obesity include ‘Cook & Eat on a Budget’ sessions to teach parents how to prepare healthy, low-cost meals.

Health Trainers and the Healthy Early Years Award work to promote the importance of physical activity and healthy eating, although Cllr Shields added that they would invest more if they had more public health funding.

The national figures were revealed amidst growing frustration over delays to the government’s childhood obesity strategy, which was due to be published last year.

Experts from Action on Sugar accused the government of watering down original aims in face of pressure from the food and drinks industry.

A leaked copy of the report contained no specific details about marketing restrictions on junk food to children and a series of other “pathetic” responses, the group said.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: “Over the next five years we will invest more than £16 billion in local government public health services and an extra £10billion in the NHS. Local councils are doing excellent work to help make their communities healthier.

“We are committed to tackling obesity – we have already taken a bold step by announcing the soft drinks industry levy and we will go further through our childhood obesity strategy.”