Obesity among children rises

Around one in four young people aged between 11 and 15-years-olds were classed as obese last year, according to official figures out today.

The new statistics from the annual Health Survey for England for 2004, show that the number of children who were obese increased between 1995 and 2004.

The survey, which was carried out by the Health and Social Care information Centre, a statutory body which helps co-ordinate and share health and adult social care information amongst professionals, found that obesity increased from 14 per cent to 24 per cent for boys aged 11 to 15 and from 15 per cent to 26 per cent for girls of the same age over this 10-year period.

Professor Denise Lievesley, chief executive of the centre, said: “The survey supports the view that there is a longer term trend towards more obesity among children in England and provides additional evidence to support concerns about children’s weight problems.”

The survey also found that one in four adults were obese.

Get the survey from: www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/hsechildobesityupdate