Nursery World - Child obesity trend could be 'exaggerated', say experts

Forecasts of a huge rise in childhood obesity may have been exaggerated, according to new research.

Data from the National Heart Forum shows that obesity in children may be levelling off rather than increasing.

A team of experts from the National Heart Forum and Oxford University compared existing forecasts of obesity based on Healthy Survey for England obesity data and updated forecasts on data between 2000 and 2007.

In 2006 a Government report predicted that more than one million children would be obese by 2010 if nothing was done to prevent it.

The new figures, however, suggest that by 2020, the proportion of obese boys aged two to 11 will fall from 20 per cent to 13 per cent, and for girls of the same age from 14 per cent to 10 per cent.

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