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Levels of obesity in British children still rising: report WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM
LONDON (AFP) — A rising number of children in Britain are becoming obese, a national survey said, with under-11s in poor, inner-city households the fastest-growing category. A report by the National Centre for Social Research showed that the prevalence of obesity among children in England aged two to 10 rose to 13.7 percent in 2003 from 9.9 percent in 1995. The percentage of children who were either overweight or obese increased to 27.7 percent from 22.7 percent over the same period, the figures showed. "The factors that have driven the obesity crisis are still in place. The government has put some programmes in place to redress them -- though not nearly enough -- and they will take a while to have an effect," said Dr Elizabeth Dowler, expert in food and nutrition at the University of Warwick. Britain has the fastest-growing fat problem in Europe. Cases of obesity have grown by almost 400 percent in 25 years and three-quarters of adults are now either overweight or obese. |
