How children lost the war on weight
A CHANGE in diet was needed to halt a growing trend of obesity in children from deprived areas, a huge 70-year study out today finds.
Being fat was once a sign of wealth but is now associated more with poverty as richer people tend to be slimmer, say researchers looking at child obesity from 1946.
The end of wartime rationing saw children consuming more calories but they were slimmer and healthier on average than modern children.
The relatively high price of healthy food in recent times could help explain the switch in weight between rich and poor children, they found.
Though welcoming the levy on high-sugar drinks, the experts said the trend was likely to continue unless the Government took further action to reduce sugar and fat in food and drinks and crack down on the targeting of youngsters for unhealthy food adverts.
According to the International Obesity Task Force the weekly postwar food ration for children supplied about 1,800 calories – precisely the amount needed for growing eightyear-olds – through a low-sugar diet high in fruit and vegetables.
By contrast the average child on a modern diet that includes crisps, hamburgers and chocolate can consume more than 3,000 calories daily.
The findings from scientists at University College London’s Institute of Education looked at the health of 22,500 children at the age of seven, 34,873 at 11 and 26,128 at 15 in four groups between 1946 and 2001. It found that poorer children born in the years after the war were both thinner and shorter than children from wealthier homes.
But by the millennium they had caught up in height but were more likely to be overweight and obese.
Previous studies had analysed trends in body mass index (BMI), not height and weight separately.
This study, published in The Lancet Public Health journal, found that from 1953 to 2015, the difference Some of a child’s weekly war-time rations: Bacon and ham 2oz Butter 1oz - four individual portions
Cheese 1oz – recommended size of one portion
Sugar 4oz - just over 2 tablespoons
Sweets 12oz every four weeks
Eggs 3 in children’s BMI levels between the most and the least disadvantaged children has expanded.
However, the difference in children’s height has narrowed and fewer disadvantaged children are now of short stature.
Lead author Dr David Bann said the report showed that previous policies to tackle childhood obesity and poor health caused by diet had failed and that existing policies were unlikely to change things. He warned “Without effective interventions, childhood BMI inequalities are likely to widen further throughout adulthood, leading to decades of adverse health and economic consequences.
“Bold action is needed, such as creating further incentives for food manufacturers to reduce sugar and fat content in food and drinks, reduce the advertising of unhealthy foods to children and families, and incentivise the alternatives.”
Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, said: “The availability, quality and affordability of food is key. The end of rationing and simply more food enabled the poorest substantially to catch up in height.
“The downside, however, is that their staple diet has become progressively worse in comparison with that of richer families.” sale of healthier