Increasing levels of excess weight among children in England

Abstract

Excess weight in children is thought to be widely prevalent and to be increasing. An analysis of the data for children collected in the Health Survey for England in 1998 shows that, using international definitions of overweight and obesity, one child in 25 is obese and one child in five is overweight (including those that are obese). Between 1994 and 1998, the prevalence of overweight children grew from about 13 to 20%. The prevalence of excess bodyweight among children in England appears to be rising at an accelerating rate.