Prime Minister Tony Blair has urged the public to take more responsibility for fitness and diet in the wake of a new report which has revealed that English adults have the highest rate of obesity in Europe.

The report, called Health Challenge England, was published on 10 October and sets out what the government has done so far to tackle public health inequalities since the publication of the White Paper, Choosing Health, in 2004.

The government also published a Health Profile of England, providing a comprehensive survey of the nation’s health in 2004, the year the White Paper was published.

The profile shows that 23 per cent of English adults are obese – the highest rate in Europe.

It also revealed a clear north-south divide in that women living in the West Midlands were the most likely to be obese, while those living in London, the south east or south west were least likely.

Yorkshire and the Humber region had the greatest prevalence of obesity for men, while the least was in London.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, the Prime Minister accepted that economic deprivation was a key factor in poor public health, saying: “I have to say it is to do with poverty. It’s to do with diet, it’s to do with exercise. It starts at school and it starts with what parents feed their children.”

However, he said it wasn’t possible for the government to “do it all” in terms of raising awareness of the importance of adopting a healthier lifestyle and that the government was trying to balance between not becoming a nanny state and trying to educate people to make healthier life choices.

Commenting on the government's Health Profile of England report, Dr Chris Spencer-Jones, chair of the British Medical Association's public health committee, said: “We welcome the progress made on public health issues and whilst we fully support the government's aim to help people to make healthier choices, these findings show that there is still more to be done.

“Public health must be given a greater priority within the NHS. The new primary care trusts (PCTs) now have a real opportunity to ensure that public health is at the top of their agenda. It is vital that PCTs are not captive to politically-driven initiatives, which may not, in practice, be that effective. They must also be given the freedom to focus on the public health issues which affect local health, and the chance to make a real difference to the health of their community.”

Photograph: Launching the report, Tony Blair travelled to east London to meet health professionals, children and marketing experts where they discussed what steps local communities need to take to lead healthier lives. Copyright: Crown