268 Million School Children will be Overweight by 2025

10 Oct 2016 --- The World Obesity Federation in Pediatric Obesity has published new figures suggesting that if current trends continue, 268 million school-aged children worldwide will be overweight by 2025, including 91 million who will have obesity. The new projections have increased sharply from the 223 million estimated only 3 years ago in 2013, and are in addition to the estimated 41 million children under the age 5 years who are currently affected by overweight or obesity.

The data has been published to mark this year’s World Obesity Day, taking place on the 11th October. The awareness day focuses on ‘ending childhood obesity’ with an emphasis on the need for urgent government action and leadership to tackle this unsustainable health concern. 

Talking with NutritionInsight, Tim Lobstien, Director of Policy at the World Obesity Federation, and author of the research said: “Governments are committed in World Health Assembly resolutions to take action, but few seem to be genuinely concerned enough to take on the economic forces that generate an obesogenic environment.” 

“These include rationalizing food supplies to meet nutritional needs, but also creating healthier urban environments to promote health, with green spaces and traffic controls.”

Lobstien added that the fear of tackling “Big Business” is a prominent issue in the childhood obesity epidemic, and referenced the speech of the Director General of the World Health Organization, Margaret Chan, last year: “Not one single country has managed to turn around its obesity epidemic in all age groups. This is not a failure of individual will power. This is a failure of political will to take on big business.”

“I am deeply concerned by two recent trends. The first relates to trade agreements. Governments introducing measures to protect the health of their citizens are being taken to court, and challenged in litigation. This is dangerous.”

“The second is efforts by industry to shape the public health policies and strategies that affect their products. When industry is involved in policy-making, rest assured that the most effective control measures will be downplayed or left out entirely. This, too, is well documented, and dangerous.”

Further discussing the food industry’s reaction to the epidemic so far, Lobstien added, “Food companies are making voluntary efforts to reduce their marketing to younger children, but clearly this is not sufficient.”

“There are several studies showing a lack of effectiveness of voluntary measures. Meanwhile these same companies are expanding their markets for soft drinks, snacks, inappropriate baby foods and formula milks across much of the developing world.”

The subject of the rate of obesity in developing countries is a key one in the overall obesity issue, and is something that the World Obesity Federation is keen to promote. 

It’s data shows that 80% of child overweight and obesity is expected to occur in developing, low- and middle- income countries, where health systems are also likely face rapid increases in demand for treating the chronic diseases that come as a result of obesity, such as heart disease, diabetes, fatty liver disease and hypertension, all of which are predicted to have a negative impact on economic productivity.

The President of the World Obesity Federation, Professor Ian Caterson from the Boden Institute at the University of Sydney, said, “The obesity epidemic has reached virtually every country in the world, and overweight and obesity levels are continuing to rise in most places.”

“It is of particular concern that it is the low- and middle- income countries who have the least resources to treat obesity are likely to have the greatest burden.”

“Governments know the present childhood obesity epidemic is unsustainable and doing nothing is not an option. That’s why we are using World Obesity Day to call for urgent action.”

“Action needs to be taken urgently,” agreed Lobstien, saying, “Food company shareholders need to realize that their long-term interests are best served if their companies provide the food people actually need, not by creating tasty but unhealthy products they can stack on the shelves cheaply, but by improving the supply of fresh and perishable foods that are really nutritious.”

“Governments have pledged to reduce child and adolescent obesity to 2010 levels by the year 2025,” Lobstien continued.

“They will utterly fail to meet this target unless they take strong action, including setting high standards for public sector food supplies, using public sector purchasing power, and introducing market interventions including taxation, labeling and advertising restrictions.” 

As part of World Obesity Day, World Obesity Federation is also urging health ministries to introduce and expand screening, weight-loss, weight-management and treatment services to meet the needs of all children who are already overweight or obese. 

by Hannah Gardiner