Obesity in Children

Obesity in Children
By Shelley Costello

When I was younger, obesity was a pretty rarely used word. Nowadays there doesn’t seem to be a time when it doesn’t appear in a newspaper article, magazine or news report.

I live in England and a pretty recent and shocking report revealed that a quarter of our population are obese.

At present there are no firm facts and figures to the number of obese children but it is estimated that around 15% of children in the UK are either overweight or obese. One in 10 six year olds is obese and if current trends persist, it is estimated that by the year 2020, half of children in England could be obese.

An obese child may suffer diabetes, sleep apnoea which can lead to cardiovascular disease, depression which can lead to a comfort eating cycle and a whole list of other health risks which increase as the child gets older.

Obesity in children is becoming a worrying concern for everyone. Schools are engaging parents into encouraging their children to eat healthier lunches take more exercise and be aware of prolonged inactivity. News and television reports document the enormous health risks and more recently we have seen a ‘reality TV’ style programme which documents a health professional or coach working with an obese child.

Think back to your own childhood. Can you remember how many overweight or obese children were at your primary school for instance? Can you remember how many were at your high school? The answer is probably one or two in the whole school.