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Global childhood overweight, obesity projected to increase
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The worldwide prevalence of excess body weight in school-aged children may increase to 268 million by 2025, if current trends continue, and 91 million will have obesity, according to study findings published in Pediatric Obesity.
The rates were 223 million in 2013 in addition to the estimated 41 million children younger than 5 years with overweight or obesity, according to the researchers.
“Soft drink and fatty food consumption have increased worldwide, and children are becoming more sedentary. Junk food advertising continues to influence food choices, and increasing numbers of families live on low incomes in urban environments — a recipe for weight gain,” Tim Lobstein, PhD, policy director of the World Obesity Federation, said in a press release. “Governments have pledged to reduce child and adolescent obesity to 2010 levels by the year 2025. Governments will utterly fail to meet this target unless they take strong action, including setting high standards for public sector food supplies, using public sector purchasing power, and introducing market interventions, including taxation, labeling and advertising restrictions,” he said.
Lobstein and Rachel Jackson-Leach, MSc, also of the World Obesity Federation, evaluated data prepared by the Global Burden of Disease collaborative for 2000 and 2013 to estimate the prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity.
Estimated rates of childhood overweight in children aged 5 to 17 years will likely reach 15.8% in 2025, an increase from 13.9% in 2013, translating to 268 million children in 2025 compared with 219 million children in 2010.
“The obesity epidemic has reached virtually every country in the world, and overweight and obesity levels are continuing to rise in most places,” Ian Caterson, PhD, president of the World Obesity Federation, said in the release. “It is of particular concern that it is the low- and middle-income countries who have the least resources to treat obesity [that] are likely to have the greatest burden. Governments know the present childhood obesity epidemic is unsustainable, and doing nothing is not an option. That’s why we are using World Obesity day to call for urgent action.” – by Amber Cox
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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