Junk food children 'eating themselves into an early grave'

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-05-11 14:48

Across Britain's ten million five to 18-year-olds as a whole, 2.3million are overweight or obese, meaning Britain accounts for one- seventh of the European overweight and obese tally of 16million. Dr Lobstein, director of the childhood obesity programme at the International Association for the Study of Obesity, said: 'Child Science Reporter, in Amsterdam obesity has never been higher. It is because of those kinds of figures that their life expectancy is going to be a few years less than those of you or me.

'Britain is near the top of the league of child obesity. 'Our kids are eating themselves into an early grave.' Dr Lobstein's analysis of more than 150 studies found that just over half a million European schoolchildren suffer from high blood pressure. In Britain, this equates to 80,000 under-18s - 60,000 of which will still be at primary school.

It is not yet clear why the figures are so heavily stacked towards younger children. Almost 200,000 under-18s in the UK, including 91,000 under-12s, have high cholesterol.

And more than 200,000 British schoolchildren have blood sugar and insulin levels linked to diabetes. A similar number of under-18s have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease - in which the liver becomes clogged with fat, in much the same way as a goose liver fattened for foie gras production.

The condition can lead to serious liver problems including the swelling and tenderness caused by hepatitis, and the life-threatening scarring of cirrhosis. Dr Lobstein, former director of the Food Commission, said: 'Our kids have been swamped with adverts for junk food. A pizza used to be a treat when I was a child; it is now pretty common.

'The amount of fat and sugar in foods has increased in the last 20 years, we neglected school meals until the last five years, soft drink sales have never been higher, confectionary sales have rocketed. 'TV-watching is big and if you add computer games, videos and other sedentary media, exercise levels have fallen.

'Cycling as a rule is hazardous in the UK, particularly for kids. I used to cycle to school but hardly anybody does now. If we are to spend a lot of money investing in the future, then the future is our kids. There would be no better way of investing than in bike lanes and safe play areas. 'I would suggest a fiscal policy. I'm in favour of a "fat tax".

'VAT can be altered so that it focuses on the fatty, sugary foods and encourages more fruit and vegetable consumption. 'The wave of obesity is moving forwards and it will be tragic if it is not tackled.' The Department of Health said it had no plans to introduce a 'fat tax' but was working with the food and drink industry to reduce saturated fat and sugar levels, as well as portion sizes, and encourage healthy alternatives.

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