Jan

10

Childhood obesity has stabilised: expert - Sydney Morning Herald- Childhood Obesity News

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Professor Boyd Swinburn says new analysis which shows a stabilisation of youth obesity rates this decade should not relieve pressure on the food industry to curb its promotion of unhealthy products. His comments followed the release of an analysis of 27 Australian studies of childhood-weight status, conducted from 1985 to 2007 and taking in about 70,000 children, by University of South Australia Professor Timothy Olds. Prof Olds says it had revealed a “clear plateau” in obesity prevalence over the past five to 10 years, with obesity now affecting five to six per cent of the child population while 23 to 24 per cent were obese or overweight. The Australian Medical Association (AMA) also responded by saying the figures on overweight and obese children remained too high, while the peak body representing food manufacturers welcomed the deflating of a myth. Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) chief executive Kate Carnell said Prof Olds’ analysis had echoed the results of joint-industry and federal government study, which found 76 per cent of Australian children were “normal weight”. Read Childhood Obesity

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