The ‘exploding nightmare’ of child obesity
Print Edition
CHILDHOOD obesity has reached alarming rates globally and has become an “exploding nightmare” in the developing world, including Africa where the number of obese and overweight children under 5 has nearly doubled since 1990, a World Health Organization commission said yesterday.
The authors of the report from the Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity stressed that the epidemic has historically not been treated as a grave public health issue and was regarded by some as a product of lifestyle choices by individuals and families.
But following two years of research in more than 100 countries, they said governments and global public health bodies were central to reversing the scourge.
“What’s the big message? It’s not the kid’s fault,” commission co-chair Peter Gluckman told reporters.
Biological factors, inadequate access to healthy foods, a decline in physical activity in schools and the unregulated marketing of fattening foods are among the drivers of a worsening epidemic that requires a coordinated global response, the report said.
If not reversed, “the obesity epidemic has the potential to negate many of the health benefits that have contributed to the increased longevity observed in the world,” the report added.
Gluckman conceded that the commission’s recommendations — which range from promoting healthy lifestyles to higher taxes on sugary drinks — may seem like common sense.
But, the commission noted, common sense strategies have not been adequately implemented anywhere in the world, with the number of obese and overweight children under 5 growing from 31 million to 41 million between 1990 and 2014.
Child obesity “is an exploding nightmare in the developing world,” Gluckman said.
The figures have surged in Africa, with the number of overweight or obese children under 5 nearly doubling from 1990 to 2014, from 5.4 million to 10.3 million.
The rate of increase in Asia was difficult to quantify, Gluckman said, but Asia currently accounts for nearly half of young children categorized as overweight or obese.
Gluckman stressed that urging individuals to eat well and keep fit was not enough.
“Dieting and exercise alone is not the solution,” he said. “We have responsibilities on behalf of the world’s children to stop them from being overly obese.”
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