Childhood Obesity Study Alarms Doctors

[Health Dr. 2]

Childhood obesity study alarms doctors
Sarah Boseley
The Guardian

The scale of the obesity epidemic among young children was revealed yesterday in official figures which showed that more than a quarter of two- to 10-year-olds in England are overweight and one in seven is obese. The figures, which showed a steady rise over eight years, alarmed even doctors who work in the area. "This shows that we have an even bigger problem than we had anticipated," said David Haslam of the National Obesity Forum.

Changing lifestyles is a struggle even for those who know they should be careful of their food intake and be sure to exercise, he said. "There's a lack of practical and consistent help because healthcare professionals working within the NHS don't have sufficient resources to treat obesity seriously. That has to change if we are to halt the worrying rising trend of obesity."

The statistics come from a report, published yesterday by the Department of Health, aimed at helping those responsible for fighting the epidemic among children.

It shows that the proportion of under-11s who are considered overweight was 27.7% in 2003 - a rise of five points in eight years. Since 1995, the proportion of obese children aged between two and 10 has gone up from 9.9% to 13.7%.

The figures come from the Health Survey for England, which is based on information gathered from 16,000 adults and 4,000 children, chosen to represent the entire population, each year. Researchers calculated each individual's body mass index.

The figures show a slight decline in the numbers of obese and overweight children in the final year of the survey, but the researchers say the drop is not statistically significant.

The picture is similar for boys and girls. Obesity among boys rose from 9.6% in 1995 to 14.9% in 2003, while among girls it went up from 10.3% to 12.5%. The proportion of overweight boys went up from 22.5% to 29.6%, while for girls the increase was from 22.9% to 25.9%.

The gradual rise masks some important differences between the age groups, the report says. Obesity went up most sharply among children aged eight to 10, from 11.2% to 16.5%, and least among two- and three-year-olds, from 9.4% to 11.2%. That pattern also applied to overweight children.

Obesity was lowest in the Yorkshire and Humber region (11.4%) and the south-east (13.4%). The highest levels were in the north-east, where 18.3% of under-11s were obese, and London, where the rate was 18.2%.

Children living in less affluent circumstances were more likely to have weight problems. Obesity was highest in inner-city areas. Fewer than one child in six was obese elsewhere. The more deprived the area, in terms of income, edu cation, employment, skills and so on, the more likely children were to be obese.

Children with obese or overweight parents were more likely to have weight problems. In households where both parents were classified as obese, almost a fifth of the children were as well, compared with 6.7% of children whose parents were not overweight.

Eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day made no difference to children's chances of being overweight, the research says, but the results could be misleading because only an eighth of the five- to 10-year-olds who were asked this question ate five portions a day.