Rising child obesity rates are levelling out

For those under the age of 10 years, research has shown that obesity levels are stabilising based on studies commenced in 1994, and lasting until 2013.
For the first decade covered, obesity rates rose at a fairly constant rate for all ages. This increase then slowly ended during the second decade, according to the data collected by King’s College London. However, for children in the category of 11-15 years old, obesity levels continued to rise (but less severely than before) throughout the study period.
One third of children are now classed as overweight in the UK, with one fifth being obese. Medical experts believe that being overweight or obese is a major contributor to developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes, infertility, some forms of cancer and other health problems. It is therefore very important that people try to eat a healthy diet and do regular exercise.
Despite there clearly being a lot of work still needed to reduce the number of overweight and obese people in the UK, this does at least show that gradual progress has been made. The chair of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health’s nutrition committee, Colin Michie, acknowledged this, but said: “It still leaves us with lots of problems, particularly among teenagers, who are not easily directed, at a sensitive time in their lives.”
“It is a disappointment that even more children are overweight and obese at the end of primary school than at the beginning. Prevention works better in younger age groups, so we have to focus on cutting calories and encouraging a more active, healthy lifestyle in children.”