By Tony Brooks
Daily Express
16 May 2008
OVERWEIGHT youngsters are facing drastic stomach-stapling surgery as Britain’s obesity epidemic spirals out of control, a hospital chief warned yesterday. Children as young as two are now being admitted for treatment due to poor health caused by being overweight.
And many UK teenagers are developing diseases associated with people in their 50s, such as diet-related diabetes.
Special masks are also being issued to flabby children whose breathing has become restricted by fat tissue in the windpipe.
The latest revelations about the shocking state of health among thenation’s youngsters comes from Dr Steve Ryan, the medical director atLiverpool’s Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.
He believes it is “almost certain” that weight loss surgery such asstomach stapling will be performed on children in the next few years.
Dr Ryan said: “In adults, it is one of the things that can be very effective but it is a drastic step.
“Clearly, you are not going to dive in and do that for children withouta lot of careful consideration but it would be an option.
“When you look at the risks of surgery and the risks of carrying on with the way things are it may be worth it.”
He said the number of overweight children being admitted to Alder Hey had risen dramatically over the past 10 years.
Dr Ryan added: “We are starting to see breathing difficulties inoverweight children. They are suffering from conditions that usuallyonly affect adults, such as sleep apnea, which requires sufferers towear a mask over their nose or mouth at night.”
Sleep apnea is caused by extra soft fat tissue thickening the wall ofthe windpipe. This means the opening narrows and makes it difficult tobreathe at night.
The condition can cause high blood pressure leading to heart problems, strokes and diabetes.
Dr Paula Grey, joint director of public health for Liverpool PrimaryCare Trust and Liverpool City Council, said: “Being obese or overweightcan lead to serious health problems.
“The threat is now so serious that for the first time in 200 yearsyoung people are at serious risk of dying before their parents.
“Obese children are much more likely to become obese adults – and thelonger someone remains obese, the greater the risk to their health.
“Adults who are obese and overweight are also much more likely to havechildren who are overweight or obese so decisive action is reallyneeded to break these negative cycles.”
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