Fat children: a 'global crisis'

One in ten of the world's schoolchildren is overweight, according to the first global assessment of child obesity.

At least 155million youngsters between five and 17 years old are too heavy, says the International Obesity Task Force.

Around 45million of them are obese, putting them at greater risk of developing diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses before they leave their teens.

World health ministers are to vote next week on adopting a global strategy aimed at heading off a crisis in chronic diseases linked to bad eating habits and lack of exercise.

The report called on the World Health Organisation to help countries develop policies to tackle childhood obesity.

Report author Dr Ricardo Uauy said: 'We really cannot afford to delay any longer.' A third of deaths globally are from ailments linked to weight, lack of exercise and smoking.

Rich countries have more overweight people but developing countries are catching up. In South Africa, a quarter of teenage girls are fat - similar to the US.

In Europe, childhood obesity has increased steadily to 30 per cent in the south while in Italy 36 per cent of nineyearolds are overweight or obese.

Obesity is also rising among the poor. In the US, overweight rates rose twice as fast during the 1990s in Hispanic and black pre-teenage children than in white children, the report found.