One in three children aged six to nine in Europe overweight or obese – study

Report predicts number of overweight under-fives worldwide will reach 70 million by 2025

One in three children in Europe between the ages of six and nine are either overweight or obese, according to a report that also warns that by 2025 the number of under-fives worldwide who are overweight will have risen from an estimated 41 million now to 70 million.

Among the researchers' other main findings is that between 20% and 30% of all inflammatory bowel disease now begins in childhood. They also report that non-alcoholic fatty liver disease has become the single most common cause of chronic liver disease among children and adolescents in western nations. Children as young as three have been diagnosed with the illness.