Affluence ‘affects English kids’ obesity’

Health officials predict that around one in ten children in England will be obese by 2015 with those less affluent more likely to be affected.

The authors suggest that the gap between the rich and poor will widen and those children from poorer backgrounds are more likely to become obese in reports contained in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Care.

The research considered the likelihood of obesity in 2015 for children aged between two and ten and 11 and 18 years old and compared it to social class. This was mainly determined by the job title of the head of the household.

The authors, from University College London, said of the research: “If trends continue as they have been between 1995 and 2007 in 2015 the number and prevalence of obese young people is projected to increase dramatically.”

In 2015 the trend of children developing obesity from working-class backgrounds will be greatly increased compared to those from the middle classes suggests the research as boys and girls from working classes will be 10.7 per cent for boys and 11.2 per cent for girls.

This compares with 7.9 per cent for boys and 5.4 per cent for girls from non-manual households.