22% OF KIDS AGED 9 OBESE OR OVERWEIGHT
Poor children most at risk of disease
A FIFTH of nine-year-olds are overweight or obese, a report has revealed.
The study of children born at the height of the recession found more than 30% came from poor backgrounds while 14% were in the highest income group.
The Economic and Social Research Institute project also said the majority of kids were not exercising enough with a quarter getting the World Health Organisation’s recommended hour per day.
Prof Dorothy Watson of the ESRI said: “We do see those in more privileged families are a bit closer to that target. They might be physically active on five or six days more often than the less privileged families.”
One in eight suffered a long-standing health issue or disability.
The most common were respiratory conditions such as asthma and mental or behavioural conditions.
The report also found 23% of nineyear-olds had an online profile.
Boys were more likely to have one related to gaming while girls were most often related to social media. Professor Watson said: “While 45% of the parents overall said things had improved since the child was five at the height of the recession the figure was about 36%, it was lower for lone parent families.
“So they’re not experiencing the same level of improvement as we move into recovery.”
The study also found the majority of the children since the age of five had experienced at least one stressful life event.
Professor Watson added: “What we find is there is an association between emotional and behavioural difficulties and having experienced a large number of these events.”
More than 7,500 families were surveyed for the study when the child was nine months old, three, five, and nine from 2007 to 2017-18. Some kids are getting fatter