Health Business - Child obesity levels falling

Child obesity levels falling

Forecasted levels for 2 to 11 year olds show improvement.

Data produced by a team of independent experts compiled over the past few years show that child obesity is falling.

The experts, led by Professor Klim McPherson of Oxford University, looked at children's overweight and obesity levels forecast to 2020.

Figure show a 17 per cent drop in the forecasted number of overweight 2 to 11 year old girls and a 4 per cent drop in the anticipated numbers of obese girls of the same age. Boys of the same age show a 5 per cent drop in the forecast number of overweight and a 7 per cent drop in the anticipated number of obese boys.

Public Health Minister, Gillian Merron said: “Obesity is one of the biggest health challenges we face, there are currently 1.5 million children and 25 million adults that are overweight or obese, leaving them at increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart and liver disease.”

“The encouraging news that child obesity may be levelling off is thanks to the hard work of families, schools and the NHS across England, supported by government initiatives such as 5 A Day and Healthy Schools which have overseen improvements to school food and school sport.”

Further information:
5 A Day
Healthy Schools