Kids with chronic obesity conditions to sky-rocket by 2025

tunisante October 11, 2016

Study says 268 million children will suffer weight-related disease in 2025
90 million children are set to be obese ‘if drastic measures aren’t taken’
Obesity-prevention experts urge policy-makers that this is a ‘wake-up call’
The data, published today, coincides with World Obesity Day

Mia De Graaf For Dailymail.com

Published:
03:00 EST, 8 October 2016

|
Updated:
05:04 EST, 8 October 2016

e-mail

202

View
comments

Global childhood obesity rates are set to sky-rocket in the next few years.

By 2025, around 268 million children aged between five and 17 years old will be overweight, according to fresh estimates by the World Obesity Federation.

More than 90 million of those children will be registered obese, the data suggest.

It is a significant revision up from previous estimates by the World Health Organization, which had envisioned 70 million children would be overweight in 2025.

By 2025, around 268 million children aged between five and 17 years old will be overweight, according to fresh estimates by the World Obesity Federation

Researchers say, since no policy interventions are proving effective, these new figures are ominously likely.

And as a result, staggering numbers of under-18s will suffer chronic weight-related diseases.

The new study, published in the journal Pediatric Obesity, predicts that in nine years up to 12 million children will have impaired glucose tolerance.

Four million will have type 2 diabetes, they believe, while another 27 million will have hypertension.

Why money-saving meal deals are making your kids fat:…

WHO agency under investigation for saying bacon and coffee…

And 38 million will have hepatic steatosis, or buildup of fat in the liver.

‘These forecasts should sound an alarm bell for health service managers and health professionals, who will have to deal with this rising tide of ill health following the obesity epidemic,’ said Dr Tim Lobstein, Head of Policy at the World Obesity Federation.

Dr Lobstein, co-author of the study who also teaches at Australia’s Curtin University, warns drastic measures will be needed to prevent the prediction becoming a reality.

‘In a sense, we hope these forecasts are wrong: they assume current trends continue,’ he said.

‘But we are urging governments to take strong measures to reduce childhood obesity and meet their agreed target of getting the levels of childhood obesity down to 2010 levels before we get to 2025.’