Research reveals alarming levels of obesity in kids

May 2, 2015 2:26 PM

According to the researchers, children starting school in Hackney in London had the highest level of obesity, while more than one in four ten or eleven-year-olds in Southwark are obese.

The 3rd grader that weighed 24 stone

During a recent National Child Measurement Programme in Britain, Researchers measured more than one million children as part of the scheme.

One Year Six child from London weighed in at 24 stone. The figures show that 14 children in total were more than 20 stone.

While three children aged just five were more than nine stone.

According to the researchers, children starting school in Hackney in London had the highest level of obesity, while more than one in four ten or eleven-year-olds in Southwark are obese.

The children who participated in the survey were anonymised and graded either underweight, healthy weight, overweight and obese.

The measurements were taken in the 2013-2014 school year.

Only 5.5 per cent of children in Windsor and Maidenhead were classified as obese.

The information will be handed over to Public Heath England's Knowledge and Information team who have been tasked with developing a strategy to tackle the problem which has been branded 'a time bomb'.

Researchers determined that more than one fifth of children in reception were overweight or obese while that increased to a third of those in Year Six.

Only 5.5 per cent of children in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead were obese compared to more than one quarter of those in Southwark.

The researchers also determined that children in poor parts of the country were almost twice as likely to be obese than those living in desirable areas.

Nutrition expert Dr Carina Norris told the Daily Mirror: 'There is a huge amount of hidden sugar in common foods children are brought up eating such as cereal, ketchup and ready meals.

'These children are really seriously morbidly obese but they are just the tip of the iceberg. There are thousands more who are obese but not this extreme. This will lead to health concerns such as Type-2 diabetes and heart disease for future generations of adults.'

Labour party public health spokeswoman Luciana Berger said Ed Miliband would regulate the type of food parents can feed their children.

'Labour isn't afraid to stand up to vested interests to protect children's health. We would limit the sugar, fat and salt in food marketed to children.'