Childhood Obesity & Chronic Illness To Affect 268 Million Kids in 2025 Globally, Study Reveals

A new study has revealed that by 2025, childhood obesity and chronic illness in kids could affect 268 million youths globally. Of these alarming numbers, 90 million children between the ages of 5-years-old to 17-years-old could become clinically obese.

The need to address this growing health problem among the youth matters more than ever because of the potential risks. Agencies are encouraged to plan for the worst case scenario.

The study, which has been published in the journal Pediatric Obesity, comes in light of the observation of World Obesity Day on Tuesday, Oct. 11. The projected number comes from an initial report in 2010 that pegged 219 million children would become affected by weight problems and chronic illnesses in ten years time, where 76 million children will suffer from childhood obesity alone.

"These forecasts should sound an alarm bell for health service managers and health professionals, who will have to deal with this rising tide of ill health following the obesity epidemic," co-study author Tim Lobstein stated in the study, Business-Standard reports. The researchers looked into data provided by the Global Burden of Disease from 2000 to 2013 to arrive at their projections.

NZ Govt urgently needs to implement widely recommended policies to improve children's food environments @jcolemanmp #WorldObesityDay 11Oct16 pic.twitter.com/J6e67vAhk8

— StefanieVandevijvere (@svandevijvere) October 9, 2016

The researchers also underscored the potential diseases that could rise in children by 2025. Four million kids could develop Type 2 diabetes, while 12 million children could suffer from impaired glucose tolerance. Some 27 million children could end up with hypertension, while 38 million could develop fatty liver build ups or hepatic steatosis.

China leads the country with highest obesity risks in kids, which has been projected at 48.5 million children by 2025. The other countries in the top five are as follows: India (17.3 million), United States (16.7 million), Brazil (11.4 million) and Egypt (10.6 million).

Researchers are urging agencies, especially from the government, to come up with counter measures that could lessen the number of cases of childhood obesity. Learn more about World Obesity Day in this video below.