New obesity fears for under-fives

CHILDREN aged under five are being treated for obesity-related illnesses such as diabetes, asthma and gallstones, figures reveal.

Experts are urging the Government to take immediate action to tackle the problem.

Hospital admissions data shows that in the 12 months to April, nine children aged up to four, 27 aged five to 11 and 133 aged between 12 and 17 were diagnosed with diabetes, with obesity certified as the root cause.

Eight years ago no children under five had diabetes caused by obesity and only eight in the five to 11 category.there were 35 with the condition under 18.

The figures also reveal that in the past year, six children up to the age of four, 46 aged 5-11 and 139 12- to 17-year-olds were diagnosed with asthma caused by being obese. Over the same period 53 children aged 12 to 17 had gallstones related to excess weight, and 49 aged five to 17 had high blood pressure. A total of 62 under-18s also had damaged knees due to excess weight. Tam Fry, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, which aims to raise awareness of the condition in childhood, said: “These figures are appalling and many of the conditions in these children are preventable. “Decades ago, conditions such as gallstones, obesity-related asthma, high blood pressure and diabetes were only seen in adults.

“These figures show the ticking time bomb of weight-related health conditions has now exploded and children are suffering the effects.

“High fat, salt and sugar diets in processed foods are the villains. For decades increasing numbers of children have been over-consuming ultra-processed foods.

“The Government should limit the fat, salt and sugar permitted in these foodstuffs, because manufacturers know these ingredients entice people to eat more and more.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Obesity costs the NHS around £6.5billion a year and is the second biggest cause of cancer.

“Our ambition is to halve childhood obesity by 2030. We recently announced £20million to trial obesity treatments and technologies.

“We are introducing restrictions on where unhealthy food is placed in supermarkets, calorie labelling on menus, and working closely with industry to make it easier for people to make healthy food choices.

“We will also introduce restrictions banning adverts on TV for foods and drinks high in fat, salt, or sugar before 9pm, as well as paid-for adverts online.”