Britain now overtaking the US on child obesity

PRIMARY school children in Britain are overtaking those in the US for obesity, figures show.

Some 20 per cent of pupils aged ten and 11 are classed as obese, according to official statistics, compared with 18.5 per cent for children in the US aged between nine and 11.

For secondary school pupils, 23 per cent of those aged 11 to 15 are obese – against 20.6 per cent in America.

Simon Capewell, a professor in public health at Liverpool University, said ‘Our worst fears have come to pass.’

He told The Sunday Times: ‘We have an obesity epidemic in children. This translates into an epidemic in adults of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancers and mental health problems.’

When the entire population is taken into account, the US is the most obese

‘Our worst fears have come to pass’

country out of the 34 developed nations in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

But obesity rates in UK adults are rising – from 14 per cent to 26.9 per cent between 1991 and 2015. In the US, obesity rates rose from 23.2 per cent in 1991 to 38.2 per cent in 2014.

A third of children in Scotland are now at risk of being overweight and 14 per cent are at risk of being obese.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon last week set a target to cut child obesity by half by 2030. The Scottish Government’s healthy weight plan, due in the summer, is set to include a ban on twofor-one deals on food such as pizzas.