By 2025, the number of overweight children aged under five is on track to rise worldwide from an estimated 41 million today, to 70 million.
The researchers also claim that a third of children in Europe aged between six and nine are currently either overweight or obese.
An associated condition, fatty liver, is now the single most common cause of chronic liver disease among children and adolescents in the west, with three-year-olds among documented cases, according to the analysis of data from 46 countries in the European region.
The report 'Paediatric Digestive Health Across Europe', commissioned by United European Gastroenterology (UEG), states that between 20 and 30 per cent of all inflammatory bowel disease starts developing in childhood.
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