12-05-2025
Scientists pinpoint exact age you'll be obese for life
A child's weight at just six years old is crucial to predicting whether they're likely to be obese as an adult, concerning research has suggested.
Dutch scientists said the first five years of a child's life were the most important for giving them a 'chance at a happy, healthy life'.
Analysing the health records of more than 3,500 children, they found that every one-unit increase in BMI at the age of six more than doubled their odds of being overweight or obese at 18.
Being very overweight or obese is known to increase the risk of a multitude of diseases, from diabetes to several types of cancer.
Experts today, who labelled the findings important, said it showed access to healthy foods at nurseries and pre-schools as well as early intervention, was vital.
Professor Jasmin de Groot, an expert in behavioural science at the University Medical Centre Rotterdam and an author of the study, said: 'We need to understand how children grow and develop if we are to help future generations grow up healthier.
'Our research assists with this by showing that a child with obesity isn't destined to live with overweight or obesity as a young adult—and that the first five years of a child's life provide a fantastic opportunity to intervene.'
In the study, the scientists used data from 3,528 Dutch children and tracked their body mass index (BMI) at age two, six, 10, 14 and 18.
Presenting their findings at the European Congress on Obesity in Malaga, Spain, they also said that if a child with a higher BMI reached a healthy weight by the age of six, they were no longer at risk.
Current data shows around 21 per cent of five-years-old in England are obese.
It comes as separate research presented at the congress found that the number of teenagers who are overweight has increased by 50 per cent over the last 15 years.
British experts, who led the research, blamed the surge on ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and poor lifestyle choices such as excessive screen time and not enough exercise.
The study, by University of Bristol researchers, tracked those aged 12 to 17 and found the percentage who were overweight or obese increased from 22 per cent in 2008-2010 to 33 per cent in 2021-2023.
Foods laden with additives, such as crisps and sweets have long been vilified for their supposed risks, with studies linking them to heart disease and cancer.
But experts are now calling for UPFs—typically anything edible that has more artificial ingredients than natural ones—to be slashed from diets.
Last year, the Government announced a ban on TV adverts for junk food before 9pm, in an effort to tackle childhood obesity.
The ban is set to come into effect in October 2025.
But they have been urged to enact stronger policies such as banning junk food shops near schools.
Obesity itself increases the chances of person suffering serious health conditions that can damage the heart, such as high blood pressure, as well as cancers.
Around two in three adults in the UK are obese or overweight, giving the country one of the highest obesity rates in Europe.
Last year, a sobering report also suggested Britain's spiraling obesity levels have fuelled a staggering 39 per cent rise in type 2 diabetes among people under 40, with 168,000 Brits now living with the illness.
Piling on the pounds has also been linked to at least 13 types of cancer and is the second biggest cause of the disease in the UK, according to Cancer Research UK.
