To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children have been diagnosed obese since 1997; and what percentage of these children were diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
The prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing in children in England. No exact figures on how many children are obese are available, although analyses of the Health Survey for England (1999) showed the prevalence of obesity was 10 per cent., at age six rising to 17 per cent., at age 15. There are also no figures available on the numbers of children who are obese and have Type 2 diabetes. There is however evidence to suggest that the rise in the number of children with Type 2 diabetes is in proportion to the number who are obese.
The Government are committed to tackling the rising trend in childhood obesity and have put in place cross-Government programmes of work to improve eating habits and increase physical activity levels. One Government Department cannot tackle obesity on its own. The Department of Health is working with other Government Departments and a wide range of other partners at national, regional and local levels.
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