(UK) Scotland: Childhood obesity 'growing alarmingly'; 20% of kids overweight in 1st grade

July 2, 2025, Daily Record: Childhood obesity in Scotland 'growing alarmingly' as experts call for food industry crackdown

Young Scots from the most deprived parts of the country have double the risk of experiencing obesity than those livng in the most affluent areas.

A report out today warns a child’s expectation of living a healthy life is set early on and becomes "difficult to alter after the age of about five years".

Experts said the first 1,000 days of life – from pregnancy through to a child’s second birthday – are "critical to development and health across the life-course" as they called for early action to prevent obesity in youngsters.

It comes amid warnings that childhood obesity in Scotland is "growing alarmingly" with 20 per cent of children at risk of being overweight by the time they enter primary one. . . .

Experts said interventions were needed to help women to begin pregnancy at a healthy weight and encouraging breastfeeding - which is linked with a reduced risk of childhood obesity and avoiding “rapid catch-up growth” in low birth weight babies.

"The overall goal should be to establish and maintain a healthy body-weight trajectory that avoids excess gain early in life,” experts from the UK Academy of Medical Sciences and the Italian National Academy of Sciences said.