Shock rise in number of Scots boys classed as being overweight

Published on Wednesday 25 November 2009 20:47

THE number of morbidly obese and overweight Scottish boys has risen dramatically in the last ten years, government figures reveal.

Between 1998 and 2008 the number of overweight boys aged two to 15 rose from 28 to 36 per cent, while the number of morbidly obese boys jumped from 7 to 9 per cent.

Over the same period the number of young girls classed as either overweight, obese or morbidly obese either stayed the same, dropped or rose by a fraction.

Figures from the Scottish NHS Health Survey also showed that the number of obese adult men and women rose by 6 per cent over the same time period.

The results come after a survey by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) revealed on Monday that Scottish parents were "dangerously unaware" of how unfit their children are.

Only 72 per cent of parents in the Couch Kids study believed their children were "active enough", when in fact little more than one in ten was actually doing the recommended 60 minutes of exercise a day.

Andy Carver: Couch kids the result of a host of unhealthy trends

Jane DeVille-Almond, vice chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said that while improved record keeping may have inflated the adult figures, children are measured throughout their school career.

She said: "Across the UK there is no standardised measure.

"The increase in adult obesity may be partially down to more active recording of weight for adults.

"But for children we have always had accurate figures and the child obesity rate is particularly alarming."

She added that by targeting children, public health officials were failing to address the cause of childhood obesity – overweight parents.

Buying extra-wide beds, wider bedside chairs and wider wheelchairs for increasing numbers of obese patients cost the Scottish NHS 4.4 million in the last five years.

And in 2003 it was estimated that obesity related health problems were costing the Scottish NHS 171 million a year.

Commenting on the figures, public health minister Shona Robison recognised that obesity is an increasing problem in Scotland, posing a serious threat to health.

She said: "Prevention will always be better than cure, and by concentrating on the causes of obesity we stand a better chance of winning the battle.

"Worryingly one in six children are overweight or obese in Scotland and, if unchecked, that will rise to one in four by 2050."

The NHS survey used Body Mass Index (BMI) – a measure of body fat based on height and weight – to calculate obesity.

BMI as a measure of obesity has come under fire in recent years, with health experts calling for the inclusion of waist measurements along side a BMI index for accurate results.