Length Of Exposure To Obesity Associated With NCDs

According to European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO), healthcare systems should be adapted and professionals should be trained to prevent and treat childhood obesity

Childhood obesity is one of the greatest health challenges of the 21 st century. Worldwide, there has been a more than ten-fold increase in the number of children and adolescents with obesity in the past four decades, increasing from 5 million girls in 1975 to 50 million in 2016, and from 6 million to 74 million boys, according to a new global analysis of trends in child and adolescent obesity in 200 countries, published in The Lancet.

In Europe, 19-49 per cent of boys and 18-43 per cent of girls are overweight or have obesity, representing approximately 12 to 16 million overweight youth, very few of whom receive adequate treatment. The European prevalence of childhood obesity continues to rise except in a few countries where it is levelling off (Denmark, France, Sweden, Switzerland).