Europe is repeatedly being told that the continent is facing an obesity crisis of epic proportions.
The World Health Organization said earlier this year that many countries would see more than half of adults above the healthy weight limit.
However, according to Goldman Sachs analysis in its 100th edition of its Fortnightly Thoughts report, Britain has actually already reached peak obesity.
Basically, as this chart shows, those going to hospital in Britain that are related to obesity are dropping off:
Goldman Sachs
And Goldman Sachs pointed out the reason for this could be closely correlated to the fact Britain is consuming less calories than it used to:
Goldman Sachs
The World Health Organization said that by 2030, a third of women will become obese, compared to 26% in 2010. By the same year, 75% of UK men will be classified obese while 36% of men are forecasted to be obese.
However, if Britain continued to drop its average calorie consumption, this could help dramatically.
Calories intake and expenditure is the key to either gaining, losing or maintaining weight. Men, on average, are recommended to take 2,500 per day while women are recommended to take in no more than 2,000 to maintain a healthy weight.
Of course if you ingest more calories than you expend, you will put on weight. And if you expend more than you take in, you will lose weight.
So Goldman Sachs' observation that the drop in calorie consumption is closely correlated to the decrease in patient admissions related to obesity is an astute one.