Doctors beat alarm More than 120 million obese children worldwide

More and more obese children and adolescents - Experts demand consequences

In the last 40 years, the number of obese children has increased tenfold. This comes from a recent study. People who are already overweight in childhood will often have serious health problems in adulthood, reaching into old age. Therefore, physicians and researchers are calling for a more intensive approach to the problem.

Number of obese children has increased tenfold

Strong obesity in children has been an increasing problem for years. Now there are new data available. According to a recent study by Imperial College London and the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of obese children and adolescents between the ages of five and 19 has increased tenfold in the world over the last four decades. 124 million of them are therefore too fat. Being overweight is associated with numerous health risks.

The number of obese children and adolescents worldwide has increased more than tenfold in the last four decades. Experts are now calling for measures to protect the little ones from unhealthy foods. Image: kwanchaichaiudom - fotolia

Data from nearly 130 million people analyzed

For the study, which was published before the World Obesity Day in the journal "The Lancet", the approximately 1,000 scientists analyzed data from nearly 130 million people.

According to a WHO statement, this was the largest number of participants ever involved in an epidemiological study.

The researchers recorded the body mass index (BMI) and examined how obesity has changed worldwide from 1975 to 2016.

124 million obese children and adolescents worldwide

It has been shown that childhood obesity rates among children and adolescents are less than one percent (equivalent to five million girls and six million boys) in 1975, nearly six percent for girls (50 million) and almost eight percent for boys (74 million) a year Increased in 2016.

Taken together, the number of obese 5 to 19-year-olds increased from 11 million in 1975 to 124 million in 2016, an increase of more than 10 times.

According to the experts, another 213 million in 2016 were overweight, but were below the threshold for obesity. A morbid obesity is a body mass index (BMI) from 30.

Generation of children who grow up with an increased risk of illness

"Over the past four decades, childhood and adolescent obesity rates have increased worldwide and continue to do so in low- and middle-income countries. More recently, they are stagnating in higher-income countries but are still unacceptably high, "said lead author Professor Majid Ezzati of the Imperial School of Public Health.

Among other things, the expert blamed the impact of promoting unhealthy foods on the trend. In addition, healthy nutritious foods are too expensive for poor families and communities.

"The trend predicts a generation of children and adolescents growing up obese and at increased risk of disease," said Professor Ezzati.

Health consequences of severe overweight

Obesity (adiposity) in childhood and adolescence can have dangerous health consequences.

High levels of overweight can cause hypertension, diabetes, liver damage, metabolic disorders or joint problems.

In addition, many sufferers suffer from massive emotional problems. The risk of complications is higher, the longer the overweight.

To make matters worse, obesity may cause cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders, diabetes and asthma later in life.

Protect children from unhealthy foods

"We need to find ways to make healthy, nutritious food better available at home and at school, especially in poor families and communities, and we need regulations and taxes to protect children from unhealthy foods," said Professor Ezzati.

If development continues as current data suggest, obesity in children may soon be a bigger problem than being underweight.

Because then there would be more obese people in the group of five to 19-year-olds than moderately or severely underweight by the year 2022.

Nevertheless, the large number of moderately or severely underweight children and adolescents in 2016 (75 million girls and 117 million boys) remains a major public health challenge, especially in the poorest parts of the world.

Experts demand drastic measures

Dr. WHO's Fiona Bull commented on the current study results: "The data shows that overweight and obesity have reached the magnitude of a global health crisis that will worsen in the years to come - unless we take drastic action."

As stated in the communication, there are solutions to reduce obesity in children and adolescents.

The WHO also published a summary of the Ending Childhood Obesity (ECHO) initiative in parallel to the current study. The plan provides countries with clear guidelines for effective measures to curb adiposity in children and adolescents.

"In particular, countries should aim to reduce the consumption of cheap, ultra-processed, high-calorie, low-nutrient foods," Dr. Bull.

"They should also reduce the time children spend on recreational activities on screens and sitting, promoting greater participation in physical activity through active leisure pursuits and sports." (Ad)