Child obesity cases treated in hospital have more than doubled in two years, figures show
- Number of babies and toddlers treated in hospital for obesity more than doubled in two years
- Obesity contributory factor in 1,087 patients aged four and under last year
- The figure has more than tripled from 336 in 2013/14 to 1,087 in 2019/20
The number of obese babies and toddlers treated in NHS hospitals has more than doubled in two years, figures show.
Doctors say obesity was a contributory factor in 1,087 patients aged four and under last year, with 61 less than a year old.
Conditions included diabetes, asthma, sleep apnoea and stomach reflux, caused by scoffing fatty foods.
The figure has more than tripled from 336 in 2013/14 to 1,087 in 2019/20, the latest year for which figures are available.
The number of obese babies and toddlers treated in NHS hospitals has more than doubled in two years, figures show (stock image)
The numbers, from NHS Digital, are also double the 531 reported in 2017/18.
Tam Fry, from the National Obesity Forum, said it was ‘horrifying’ that infants ‘scarcely out of the womb’ are so overweight.
He blamed a shortage of health visitors and midwives, early weaning to high-calorie foods and overweight parents.
Separate figures show 601 ‘sumo babies’ were born weighing 5kg (11lb) or more in the past year. An average baby weighs 7.6lb.
Overweight mums are likely to have bigger babies. Mr Fry said: ‘It’s an absolute disgrace that children so young are being treated in hospital with obesity.’
Doctors say obesity was a contributory factor in 1,087 patients aged four and under last year, with 61 less than a year old (stock image)