According to a report from the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) published in March 2005, 1 European child in 5 is overweight or obese.

The highest prevalence is to be found in the Mediterranean region. Some countries even have a higher proportion of overweight children than the United States (estimated at 30%).

Experts have noted a rapid acceleration in the increase of excess-weight and obesity prevalence: from 0.2% in the 70s, it is rising by 2% a year today, i.e. 400,000 additional overweight or obese young Europeans each year.

« Child obesity could lead to a health disaster in the future », said David Byrne, European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, on World Heart Day in September 2004. Indeed, two-thirds of obese children remain obese all their lives and this can reduce their life expectancy by several year…

France is in mid-table for the prevalence of child obesity in Europe. According to the same European report, 18% of French children are overweight and 4% of them obese.

Otherwise, research published in 2003 by the DREES (Direction de la Recherche, des Etudes, de l'Evaluation et des Statistiques – Department of Research, Studies, Assessment and Statistics), which looked at children aged 5 to 6, shows a regional disparity in the prevalence of excess weight. Corsica, Alsace and Languedoc-Roussillon show a high proportion of overweight children.

« If nothing is done to limit the increase in child obesity, France could reach the level of the United States by about 2020!”. »

In France, since summer 2004, the prevention of obesity has been included in the Public Health Act. This law, which is to come into force on the 1st September 2005, includes several key measures: a ban on sweet-drink and confectionery vending machines in schools, regulation of the advertising of sugary products and a surtax on "alcopops" (pre-mixed alcoholic / high-sugar drinks).

In March 2005, an additional bill was presented, providing for the creation of two bodies – the "Haut comité de lutte contre l'obésité" (National Committee to Fight Obesity) and the "Observatoire de l'épidémie d'obésité" (Obesity Epidemic Monitoring Agency), as well as the organisation of a national campaign to heighten awareness of the risks involved in epidemic obesity.

Otherwise, the Programme national nutrition santé (PNNS ) (National Nutrition and Health Programme), launched by the Ministry of Health in 2001, includes nine priority objectives. One is to halt the increase in the prevalence of child obesity.

One of the PNNS applications is the Epode programme (Ensemble prévenons l’obésité des enfants, ) (Preventing Child Obesity Together), launched in January 2004.

Currently implemented in 10 French cities, the aim of the initiative is to mobilise teachers, school doctors, health workers, associations, etc. in a campaign to prevent child obesity by means of practical initiatives: dietary information, encouragement to practise more sport, etc.

Obesity that begins in childhood results in excess adult mortality estimated at between 50 and 80%. This excess mortality is mainly due to an increase in risk factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Indeed, 42.5 % of overweight or obese adults display at least one of these risk factors, compared with 18.6% of adults of normal weight.

Among obese children, anomalies such as an increase in blood pressure, high cholesterol or hyperinsulinemia can appear. Severe obesity can also trigger orthopaedic disorders. Finally, in adolescents, obesity can lead to endocrinal disorders (premature puberty, amenorrhea), as well as very premature type-2 diabetes.

Research conducted on a sample of more than 6,000 Europeans and published on the 17^th July 2005 in Nature Genetics magazine has enabled the identification of a gene common to obesity and type-2 diabetes. The simultaneous presence of three mutations in the gene ENPP1 increases the risk of developing obesity in childhood, then massive obesity and type-2 diabetes as an adult, by 50 to 70%.

Although heredity plays a role on an individual level, it is still a fact that on a collective level, lack of exercise and poor diet are the main causes of infantile obesity. 

Lise Barnéoud