LONDON (AFP) -- Britain's status as the fat man of Europe has been confirmed by a government report showing that many citizens are losing the battle of the bulge and slipping into obesity.

The "Health Profile of England" report released Tuesday quoted figures from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) showing that adult obesity rates in Britain were the highest in Europe at 24 percent.

This compares with just eight percent in Italy, nine percent in France and about 12 percent in Ireland, Germany and Spain.

Obesity was measured as the percentage of people who had a body mass index (BMI) -- height to weight ratio -- of more than 30.

Two months ago, the Department of Health warned that 13 million people in England would be obese by 2010 if nothing was done to tackle the problem.

While life expectancy is increasing across the board, the report said there was still an acute "north-south divide" in England -- life expectancy among men in the north of the country is two years shorter than in the south.

The town of Boston in Lincolnshire, eastern England, was found to have the highest rate of obesity in the country.

The report also said that the proportion of obese children rose by 40 percent between 1995 and 2004.

Obesity was forced up the political agenda in Britain last year by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's campaign for better school dinners for children, which led to ministers announcing an extra 280 million pounds funding.

Prime Minister Tony Blair told BBC television Tuesday that people had to take some "personal responsibility" for their health.

"We can't really afford a decent healthcare system going forward unless healthcare is not just about treating you when you are sick but also about looking after your fitness, your healthcare, and that requires people to take some personal responsibility for what they do," he said.

The main opposition Conservatives' spokesman on health, Andrew Lansley, called for "serious interventions", including more school nurses and a food labeling scheme to help people build a good diet and tackle the problem.

Lawmakers and consumer bodies have been pushing Britain's media regulator, Ofcom, to ban junk food advertisements on television before 9:00 pm, although research published Monday suggested consumers opposed any such move.

Obesity is linked to conditions including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, arthritis and asthma.

The OECD says that more than half of adults are defined as either overweight or obese in 10 of its member countries, of which the top three offenders are the United States, Mexico and the United Kingdom.

Overweight is defined as a body mass index of between 25 and 30.