Childhood obesity

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), globally, over 340 million children and adolescents aged 5-19 were overweight or obese in 2016.

The prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents aged 5-19 has risen dramatically from just 4% in 1975 to just over 18% in 2016. The rise has occurred similarly among both boys and girls: in 2016 18% of girls and 19% of boys were overweight.
In England, a £400million Government initiative to slash childhood obesity levels by 2020 has failed miserably, campaigners say.

The 2008 Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives strategy had pledged to reduce the number of overweight and obese children in England. But official figures now show that the rates of morbid obesity have almost doubled among Year 6 pupils since the scheme was launched. Fewer than 14,000 10 to 11-year-olds fell under the category when the project began in 2007. Now, the figure rose to 26,158 in 2018/19. 

Ministers brought in compulsory cooking classes in school as part of the pledge and encouraged healthier food choices and physical exercise.

The fundamental cause of obesity and overweight is an energy imbalance between calories consumed and calories expended. Globally, there has been:   

• An increased intake of energy-dense foods that are high in fat; 
• An increase in physical inactivity due to the increasingly sedentary nature of many forms of work, changing modes of transportation, and increasing urbanization.

Changes in dietary and physical activity patterns are often the result of environmental and societal changes associated with development and lack of supportive policies in sectors such as health, agriculture, transport, urban planning, environment, food processing, distribution, marketing, and education.

While children in low- and middle-income countries are more vulnerable to inadequate pre-natal, infant, and young child nutrition, these children are also exposed to high-fat, high-sugar, high-salt, energy-dense and micronutrient-poor foods, which tend to be lower in cost but also lower in nutrient quality. These dietary patterns, in conjunction with lower levels of physical activity, result in sharp increases in childhood obesity while undernutrition issues remain unsolved.

Childhood obesity is associated with a higher chance of obesity, premature death and disability in adulthood. But in addition to increased future risks, obese children experience breathing difficulties, increased risk of fractures, hypertension, early markers of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance and psychological effects.