10% Of Children Are Already Obese By The Time They Start Primary School

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boycookieFrom Your Health Journal…..What an interesting article in the Daily Mail written by Anna Hodgekiss entitled 10% of children are already obese by the time they start primary school. This web site is always discussing the topic of childhood obesity, ways to combat it, facts/figures, and expert quotes. Now, it the UK, a report is stating one in 10 children are obese when they start school, and in 2011/12, 9.5 per cent of children in reception class – aged just four and five – were classed as clinically obese. Not only has obesity increased with children in the UK over the last 10 years, but 65 percent of men and 58 percent of women are overweight or obese. These are some alarming stats and change is needed. So many of us fall into the ‘technology’ trap of the modern day lifestyle. People love their technology, but it is also causing us to become sedentary – which is a major contributor to obesity. Obesity related illness like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and weak joint are all on the rise – in adults and children. Please take the time to visit the Daily Mail web site (link provided below) to read the complete article. It was very interesting and well written.”

From the article…..

One in 10 children are obese when they start school, worrying figures suggest.

In 2011/12, 9.5 per cent of children in reception class – aged just four and five – were classed as clinically obese, according to data from the Health and Social Care Information Centre.

And a fifth of pupils in their final year of primary school – aged 10 and 11 – were excessively overweight.

The figures show that Britain’s obesity epidemic has got progressively worse over the last two decades – and it’s even worse when it comes to adults.

Some 65 per cent of men and 58 per cent of women are overweight or obese.

The figures show there has been a ‘marked increase’ in the proportion of adults who are classed as obese.

In 1993, only 13 per cent of men and 16 per cent of women fell into this category. By 2011, this has soared to 24 and 26 per cent respectively.

There has also been a stark rise in obesity-related hospital admissions, the figures suggest.

In 2011/12, 11,740 people were admitted to hospitals in England with a primary diagnosis of obesity – triple the number recorded five years earlier.

Women were three times more likely to be admitted than men, with the highest overall admission rate in the north of England.

The number of people having weight loss surgery has also soared. In 2011/12, 8,790 people underwent a procedure to help them lose weight – such as stomach stapling or a gastric bypass – more than four times the number recorded in 2006/07.

Amy Thompson, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘Alarmingly, over one in 10 children are now classed as obese when they start school.

‘We know that obese children are more likely to become obese adults, but education is the way to break this cycle.

To read the complete article…..Click here