New data suggests child obesity may be levelling off

The National Heart Forum compared previous forecasts of obesity prevalence based on Health Survey for England (HSE) obesity data, to new updated forecasts based on data between 2000 and 2007. This showed a significantly healthier picture, suggesting that the rate of increase in obesity levels across the country may be in decline. The new 2020 forecasts suggest that the predicted proportion of overweight boys aged 2-11years falls from 22% to 17% and of obese boys falls from 20% to 13%. The predicted proportion of overweight girls aged 2-11years falls sharply from 34% to 17% and of obese girls falls from 14% to 10%. For young people aged 12-19 years the forecasts are also more positive. The predicted proportion of overweight boys in 2020 decreases from 25% to 18% and of obese boys decreases from 19% to 6%. The predicted proportion of overweight girls decreases from 35% to 29% and of obese girls decreases from 30% to 9%. Professor Klim McPherson, said: "These trends present a more positive picture that obesity may be levelling off in children. However, prevalence, and current trends, of excess weight are still unacceptably high and these figures should not be taken as an argument for complacency. The Government needs to keep up the work they are doing to tackle obesity." The Minister for Public Health, Gillian Merron said: "The encouraging news that child obesity may be levelling off is thanks to the hard work of families, schools and the NHS across England, supported by Government initiatives such as 5 A Day and Healthy Schools which have overseen improvements to school food and school sport. But obesity levels are still too high and we need to keep the momentum going. "We'll only turn the tide on obesity for good if everyone - government, families and industry - play their part." Dr Michael Nelson, Director of Nutrition and Research for the School Food Trust, said: "School food has an important part to play in educating children about healthy eating and in providing the nutrition they need to learn and grow, and our research tells us we have cause to be optimistic about the future. "The changes made to school food and the hard work being put in by schools, cooks, caterers and local authorities have resulted in nearly three million children regularly eating a well-balanced meal at school every day - but there is still a long way to go and much to do. We're committed to continuing our efforts to encourage all children to enjoy the health benefits of school food."