The 10-year-old girl who weighs 24 stone: Britain's shocking childhood obesity epidemic revealed by official NHS figures
- - Seven primary school children weighed more than 20 stone, data shows
- - Hospital stays for child obesity-related reasons rise four-fold in 10 years
- - Hundreds of thousands suffer from problems usually found in middle age
By FIONA MACRAE
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The scale of Britain's child obesity crisis has been revealed by figures showing that hundreds and thousands are suffering from health problems usually associated with middle age (file photo)
The size of the child obesity epidemic has been illustrated by details of England’s fattest boys and girls.
Seven primary school children tipped the scales at more than 20 stone between 2006 and 2012 – including a 10-year-old girl of who weighed more than 24 stone and a 11-year-old boy of over 23 stone.
The figures follow warnings that that British children are eating themselves into an early grave, with hundreds of thousands suffering from high blood pressure, liver disease and health problems usually associated with middle and old age.
NHS statistics show the number of children admitted to hospital with obesity-related conditions has risen four-fold in just a decade.
The latest figures come from the National Child Measurement Programme, an England-wide scheme in which schoolchildren are weighed and measured twice before the age of 12.
A Freedom of Information request revealed that in that seven youngsters weighed in at more than 20 stone between 2006 and 2012.
They included the 10-year-old girl, who lived in Hounslow, west London.
When measured and weighed during 2006-2007, she was 4ft 10in and weighed 24 stone 5lb.
A woman of average height would be judged overweight if she weighed half that amount.
An 11-year-old boy from Manchester was 4ft 4in and weighed 23 stone 11lb in 2011-12.
This is about twice the healthy weight of a man who is 5ft 10in tall.
The same year, an 11-year-old girl from Bolton, Greater Manchester, weighted 22 stone 11lb, while a 10-year-old boy from Wandsworth, south London, weighed 21 stone 10lb.
One in ten children are obese when they start primary school and one in five are obese when they leave, with experts warning that today’s youngsters run a real risk of being the first generation to die at an earlier age than their parents.
Professor Mitch Blair of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said that psychological health can also be damaged.
He told the Sunday Times: ‘Being severely overweight at such a young age has clear physical health implications, including a higher risk of diabetes, heart disease and joint problems.
‘In addition, there can be serious psychological repercussions – teenage years are tough enough without the extra burden of being obese.’
One in ten children are obese when they start primary school and one in five are obese by the time they leave (file photo)
Recent research from the United States found people who are stigmatised for being fat are more likely to become obese.
Similarly, those who are already dangerously overweight are less likely to lose weight if they feel they are being treated differently because of their size.
It is thought ‘fattism’ drives those who are already sensitive about their weight to comfort eat. Fear of ridicule may also mean they avoid exercise.
Research by Imperial College London found that soaring numbers of British children need hospital care for asthma, sleep problems and diabetes and other problems linked to because their weight being out of control.
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