Children as young as eight are putting themselves on drastic diets, as official figures show that rates of childhood obesity are again rising at alarming rates.
As many as one in four children aged between eight and 15 years old is actively trying to slim down, according to the Government's own Health Survey for England.
Boys under 16 have recently overtaken girls as being more likely to be dangerously overweight, according to the poll of thousands of households across the country.
Children as young as eight are putting themselves on drastic diets, as official figures show that rates of childhood obesity are again rising at alarming rates (file photo)
Last night, experts labelled the rise in child obesity 'a disaster' and blamed the Government for 'taking its eye off the ball'.
Health campaigner Professor Graham MacGregor warned that if the trend continued children would start 'dying before their parents'.
Meanwhile, separate official figures revealed that in the last two years a staggering 1,300 children have been admitted to hospital because they are obese.
Prof MacGregor, chairman of Action on Sugar, a pressure group lobbying for a tax on sugary products, told The Mail on Sunday: 'The child obesity levels are an absolute disaster.
'If this trend continues we're going to become one of the world's fattest nations and you will have children dying before their parents.'
Prof MacGregor renewed calls for a sugar tax ahead of the much-anticipated publication of the Government's childhood obesity plan next month.
He recommended that sugary drinks such as cola should be one of the primary targets.
His call comes as David Cameron U-turned last week on his initial rejection of a sugar tax, promising a 'fully worked-up programme' later this year to cut down on the consumption of sugary drinks and food in the UK.
Almost a quarter of boys and 28 per cent of girls aged between eight and 15 years old interviewed said they were trying to slim down (file photo)
The Health Survey for England raised concerns among experts when it revealed that, after years of flatlining or even decreasing, childhood obesity rates have begun to rise again.
They are now almost at the same level they peaked at a decade ago when Jamie Oliver was prompted to launch his 'School Dinners' campaign to get children eating more healthily.
Dr Linda Ng Fat, who led the child obesity research for the survey, said: 'Childhood obesity levels among boys have reached 2004 and 2005 peak levels of 19 per cent, suggesting that it is not stabilising or on a downward trend.'
The respected annual survey of around 8,000 households is conducted by NatCen – the National Centre for Social Research – to enable the Government to monitor the nation's health.
In the latest poll, carried out in 2014 and published in December, some 2,000 children had their height and weight measured to calculate their Body Mass Index – the medical measurement used to show if someone is obese.
Last night, experts labelled the rise in child obesity 'a disaster' and blamed the Government for 'taking its eye off the ball' (file photo)
This research showed that while the proportion of obese children under 16 had dropped to 14 per cent in 2012, this figure has now climbed to 17 per cent – almost on a par with ten years earlier.
The data also showed that, surprisingly, boys have overtaken girls in the obesity stakes with nearly 19 per cent – or almost one in five boys aged two to 15 – classified as obese compared to around 16 per cent of girls.
And almost a quarter of boys and 28 per cent of girls aged between eight and 15 years old interviewed said they were trying to slim down.
At the same time, figures from the Government's Health and Social Information Centre showed that between 2013 and 2015 more than 1,300 children were admitted to hospital with the 'primary diagnosis' of obesity.
Professor Russell Viner, from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said that the obesity rise among boys could be down to children being more likely to play on their computers and smartphones than on the football pitch.
Case study: Jacob Bolster (above), 15, is now called 'daddy long-legs' after slimming down. He said: 'I have so much more confidence'
'We need to be doubling our efforts to get the younger generation active. The fear is that the next generation will be the first to live shorter lives than their parents,' he said.
Tam Fry, spokesman for the National Obesity Forum, blamed the upturn in obesity levels on the Government's failure to 'exert pressure' on the food industry to stop the sale of unhealthy processed foods.
'The Government needs to take draconian measures and to say to the food industry that enough is enough,' he said. Another expert, Dr Paul Sacher, a senior researcher at UCL and adviser to Slimming World, agreed that the Government had 'taken its eye off the ball' by losing its focus on tackling obesity.
A Department of Health spokeswoman responded to criticism last night by insisting that tackling childhood obesity is 'a priority' for the Government. She added: 'We will be launching our childhood obesity strategy shortly.'
CASE STUDY
At just 14, Jacob Bolsover weighed more than 15 stone and he was taunted about his 'man-boobs'
At just 14, Jacob Bolsover weighed more than 15 stone and he was taunted about his 'man-boobs'. Today, he is called 'daddy long-legs'.
'It was the fast food that I couldn't resist,' said Jacob. 'It was just so easy to eat and when I went out with my friends, we would all have the same stuff but only I would gain the weight.'
Jacob's bulging waistline first became a serious issue for him when he went to secondary school and found himself picked on.
He said: 'I preferred to hang out with girls because they didn't make fun of me. When I got changed at school I could hear people sniggering about man-boobs. It was true but it hurt.'
So, with his confidence at rock bottom, Jacob, from Chesterfield, tried a quick-fix diet. He said: 'I started juicing everything but it didn't fill me up and the temptation to cram in more calories was too much.'
Life only changed for Jacob, now 15, after he and his mum decided to join a local Slimming World group back in June. Within three months he shed three stone to reach his target of 12 stone.
'Once I hit my target, I put on Facebook what I'd done and have had so many telling me I've inspired them. They call me 'daddy long-legs' now. I have so much more confidence,' he added.
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