WHO: Childhood obesity in Europe reaches alarming levels

One in four young children in Europe is overweight, while one in ten is obese, according to the latest report from the World Health Organization (WHO). The situation is most worrying in southern Europe, where nearly one in five children live with obesity.

The WHO report, which included data on about 470,000 children from 37 countries, shows that obesity in children increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer and other chronic diseases in adulthood, writes Euronews The Shneta newspaper reports.

According to the study, boys are more at risk than girls, with 13% of boys affected by obesity, compared to 9% of girls. The report also found that most parents underestimate their children's weight: 66% of overweight children were considered by their parents to be normal or underweight.

The study also shows that children's diets are poor: only 32% of them consume vegetables every day, while 41% eat sweets, 29% drink sugary drinks and 16% consume salty foods more than three times a week. Children with higher-educated parents have healthier diets.

However, the report shows that most children are active for at least one hour a day and 89% sleep at least nine hours, which are important factors for health. The main problem remains the excessive time they spend in front of screens: 42% of children spend at least two hours a day during the week and 78% on weekends.

The WHO recommends that countries take measures to create healthier environments for children, including taxes on sugary drinks and unhealthy foods, higher nutritional standards for school meals, and policies that promote physical activity.

"Overweight and obesity in children remain a concern and continue to threaten the health of future generations," said Kremlin Wickramasinghe of the WHO.