Obesity crisis is growing

The rate of increase in the number of fat children in some developing countries is outstripping that of the United States, the most overweight country in the world.

The rate of increase in the number of fat children in some developing countries is outstripping that of the United States, the most overweight country in the world.

Over the past three decades the percentage of older children and adolescents who are overweight has nearly doubled in the US but has tripled in Brazil, a study on obesity and poor nutrition, in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found.

However, some countries are seeing a fall in childhood obesity because of steep declines in levels of nutrition. In Russia, the proportion of overweight children nearly halved, from 15.5 per cent in 1991 and to 9 per cent in 1997.

In China, the proportion of overweight children climbed by about 20 per cent over the same period, from 6.4 per cent to 7.7 per cent.