'US is beating Britain in the battle of the bulge': UK minister urges 'national soul-searching' to tackle obesity crisis Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt says America has 'turned the tide' on obesity Britain must 'wake up' to the threat posed to the nation's health Half of women, 60% of men, 25% children will be obese by 2050 Britain has made less progress in tackling obesity than the United States, Jeremy Hunt said. The Health Secretary claimed that Barack Obama's White House has "started to turn the tide on obesity," leaving the UK behind. It is a stark admission by a British politician that attempts to get the nation to shed the pounds have not worked, as he urged some "national soul-searching" about the problem. By 2050 half of women, almost two thirds of men and a quarter of children are predicted to be obese by Public Health England (photo posed by models) Twenty years ago just 13 per cent of men and 16 per cent of women were classed as obese, but the rates have almost doubled to 24 and 26 per cent. By 2050 half of women, almost two thirds of men and a quarter of children are predicted to be obese by Public Health England. By comparison 70 per cent of people are already classed as overweight and 31 per cent are obese. The NHS has warned that the statistics paint "an alarming picture that reveals that the obesity epidemic in England shows no signs of abating anytime soon." But Mr Hunt went further and warned Britain must "wake up as a country on the issue of the obesity." Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt urged Britain to engage in 'national soul-searching' over the obesity epidemic He told Sky News: "America... has an even bigger obesity problem than us, but they have actually started to turn the tide on obesity in the US; we haven't started to do that here. I think we've got to do some real national soul-searching about whether or not we're going to grip this problem. It's not just government; the government should do more but it's also about choices that people make over their own lifestyles. It comes after midwives warned the obesity epidemic is also contributing to a 'buckling' maternity service. The Royal College of Midwives said that the combination of a baby boom and staff shortages means the NHS coped with almost 130,000 more births in 2012 than the service was designed for. In means it is lacking resources to deliver one in five of the 700,000 babies born in England each year.