British kids are getting fat faster than others

Rebecca Smith|Evening Standard Health Reporter

13 April 2012

Rates of childhood obesity are accelerating faster in Britain than anywhere else in the world. Figures in a new report show the numbers of overweight children in Britain are now rising twice as fast as those in America.

Australia and Canada are the only countries where numbers of young people are getting fat at the same rate as our children.

The report by the International Obesity Taskforce showed Britain ranked tenth in a table of the proportion of overweight seven- to ten-year-olds in Europe and the US.

Italy has the highest rate of overweight children, but trends suggest we will overtake them by 2050.

The report, Obesity in Children and Young People: a Crisis in Public Health, said that:

10 per cent of world's school-age children are carrying excess weight and 2-3 per cent of these are obese.
Numbers of overweight children are higher in rich countries.
Rates of overweight children have risen by 0.5 per cent in America in 20 years compared with 1 per cent in Britain, Canada and Australia.
Rates of childhood obesity are increasing in most parts of the world.
The greatest health problems will be seen in the next generation of adults, who will need medical treatment for the rest of their lives.

The report said the rise in overweight children is due to an increase in motorised transport; less physical activity; more energy-dense foods; more restaurants and fast-food outlets; larger food portions; eating frequently; and a tendency to consume more fizzy drinks than water in schools.

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