13.06.13
More children admitted for obesity-related conditions
The number of children and teenagers admitted to hospital for obesity-related conditions has risen by thousands in the last decade, new research shows.
Imperial College London researchers analysed all NHS admissions for obesity as a primary cause or with conditions complicated by obesity in hospitals in England and Wales from 2000 to 2009. For patients aged 5-19, a total of 20,885 were treated for related conditions, three quarters of which involved issues complicated by excess weight gain such as asthma, sleep apnoea and complications with pregnancy.
In 2009 nearly 4,000 young people were admitted to hospital for related conditions, compared to 872 in 2000. The UK now has the highest rate of child obesity in western Europe, and the cost to the NHS is £4.2bn a year.
Dr Sonia Saxena, lead researcher, told BBC News: “We are seeing – through obesity – an increasing number of children with conditions that we previously diagnosed in adulthood... [and which] are now being diagnosed in childhood.
“What's new about our paper is that we're actually showing it's not a ticking time-bomb – the time-bomb is exploding within the early life course, so in other words in the teenage years. That's where it's becoming manifest.”
RCPCH officer for health promotion, Prof Mitch Blair, added: “We need to look seriously at how fast food is marketed at children and consider banning junk food prior to the 9pm watershed, limiting the number of fast food outlets near schools, and making sure children are taught the importance of a healthy, balanced diet and how to cook nutritious meals from an early age at school.”
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