Childhood
Obesity Statistics
With childhood
obesity in the news so much these days, it is an important issue
for not only individuals, but also governments.
Childhood obesity
has reached epidemic proportions in many parts of the world
and is now a cause for concern for the World Health Organisation.
Acc ording
to the WHO, the number of under-5s suffering from childhood
obesity worldwide is a staggering 22 million.
In
the US, about 15.3 percent in the 6-11 age range and 15.5 percent
of 12-19 year olds were overweight in 2000. Another 15 percent
of children and 14.9 percent of adolescents were borderline
overweight. This means that the number of overweight kids in
the US has tripled approximately 25 years.
While
we often associate childhood obesity with the US, the rest of
the developed world is not immune.
Around
20% of Australian children and teenagers are overweight.
I visited China in
the 80s, a country where a bit of extra weight was considered
a sign of wealth and in my year there, I don't remember seeing
anyone who was seriously overweight. Now, since the arrival of
western fast food restaurants, 1 in 10 children in urban areas
are not just overweight, but obese.
It is likely that
at least one fifth of boys and one third of girls in the UK
will be obese by 2020. Overweight
teenagers have a 70 per cent chance of becoming overweight adults
and if one of their parents is overweight, the risk goes up
to 80%. Apart from the alarming increase in diseases related
to obesity, these statistics are having a serious effect on
life expectancy. It is predicted that life expectancy in developed
countries, which has been rising gradually,will soon start to
decrease.
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