The number of healthy kids trying to lose weight has tripled in the last 20 years, research finds –

Research shows that the number of healthy children choosing to diet has tripled in the past two decades.

Oxford University experts surveyed 34,000 children trying to lose, maintain or gain weight.

Attempts to lose weight among people with a healthy BMI rose from 5% when the study began in 1997 to 14% in 2016.

Meanwhile, the number of overweight children trying to lose weight has quadrupled, and the number of obese teens trying to lose weight has doubled.

The team said it was a “success” for overweight and obese teens to try to lose weight.

But while the initiatives among healthy kids were “arousing concern”, activists said healthy teens on a diet should “get out.”

Oxford University research showed that the number of overweight children trying to lose weight has quadrupled over the past two decades, from 9% to 39%. In healthy children, it increased from 5% to 14%. The obese cohort saw the smallest increase, doubling from 33% to 63%.

Data show that one in three children in the UK is overweight or obese. Levels increased only during the lockdown.

But little is known about the number of teens who participate in weight management programs or are trying to lose weight, the researchers said.

To bridge the knowledge gap, the team analyzed the responses of 34,235 children aged 8 to 17 who participated in the UK health survey.

Between 1997 and 2016, the team examined eight phases of a nationally representative survey of youth’s health habits.

During the interviews, “Are you currently trying to lose weight, gain weight, or not try to change weight?” he was asked.

Results, published in the Archives of Childhood Diseases, show that more than a quarter (26.5%) of children tried to lose weight in 2016.

The figure rose from just 21.5 percent in 1998.

The increase between 1998 and 2016 is greater than the increase in the number of overweight children, meaning healthier children are trying to lose weight.

Overall, the percentage of children trying to lose weight was higher among older children: one in three aged 13 to 17, compared with one in five aged eight to 12.

Among overweight children, the number of weight loss attempts has quadrupled in the past two decades, from 9% to 39%.

The obese cohort saw the smallest increase, doubling from 33% to 63%.

The proportion of children trying to lose weight was higher in girls (60%) than boys (40%). But the increase over time was only significant for men, the researchers said.

The analysis also showed that the strongest annual increase in weight loss initiatives was recorded in 2012, when parents began receiving feedback on their child’s weight under the National Child Measurement Program (NCMP).

The researchers wrote: “Increased weight loss efforts in overweight or obese children may mean some success in communicating the importance of weight management to this group.”

However, they said it was “worrying that the increase was not accompanied by an increase in the provision of weight management services in the UK”.

Experts noted that this creates a “risk of uncontrolled and potentially inappropriate weight management behavior.”

“Meanwhile, the increase in weight loss efforts in healthy-weight children raises concerns and indicates that more attention is needed to accurately target weight management messages,” they wrote.

The team added: “More research is needed to understand the causes of weight loss attempts in healthy young people and to reduce their occurrence.

“Policies to combat teen obesity must be sensitive to reduce the risk of promoting inadequate weight management practices.”

Tam Fry, chair of the National Obesity Forum, said: “The news that more and more kids are taking their weight seriously is welcome, but that success needs to be met with some caution.

“The study points out that the data are estimates and inaccurate, but easily exceeded by the proposed extension of the NCMP.

It’s alarming that healthy-weight children appear on a ‘diet’ and are politely told to quit.”