Posted on 07/04/2009 6:18:14 PM PDT by Steelfish
Childhood obesity revealed in fat map
One in six children are obese by the time they start school in some parts of the country, a new "fat map" of Britain has revealed.
By Laura Donnelly, Health Correspondent
04 Jul 2009
The findings highlight the contrast between areas, with under-fives in the worst-affected districts four times more likely to be obese as those in the districts with the best records.
One in six children in Stockton-on-Tees, in north-east England, is so overweight that their health is endangered by the time they start school.
Four-year-olds in North East England four times as likely to be as obese as others
British children eating themselves into an early grave, study claims 'Fattest mother' feeds babies on McDonald's fast food
Yet in the district of Adur, Sussex, only one in 25 children is "clinically obese" by the age of five.
The figures, collected via a national measuring scheme, show that on average, one in ten children is obese by the time they start primary school.
By the time they move on to secondary school at age 11, twice as many are classed as obese.
Experts described the figures as "tragic" evidence of an obesity epidemic forecast to blight the health of millions, via mounting rates of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and even limb amputations.
With childhood obesity levels highest in the poorest areas, opposition politicians said the statistics undermined Labour's claims to be tackling social inequality.
Tam Fry, from the National Obesity Forum, a charity, said: "The evidence is mounting that obesity starts early – even in the first year of life.
"What many parents will consider puppy fat usually stays with children for their lives, and leads to untold health problems." The statistics demonstrated clear links between low incomes and obesity, he added.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
There might be something to that overpopulation thing. There sure seems to be a lot of people with too much free time on their hands.
They are mapping!
>They are mapping!
New Google Earth functionality!
Personally I’m hoping for increased rates of obesity as I will appear more in shape by comparison.
what does free time have to do with overpopulation?
I was expecting to see a map, there was no map. BBC = FAIL.
Oops, that was the Torygraph and not the BBC.
Just saw another article today that lamented the spike in healthcare costs to treat obesity-related illnesses.
I don’t doubt for a minute that the socialists aren’t purposely trying to relate the two in order to attain more control.
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