Childhood obesity can lead to liver disease

Friday, 15 July 2011 9:33 AM

British parents could be killing their kids with food, with new reports quoting figures that 500,000 children in England are at risk of developing life-threatening liver disease because they are overweight.

The Foresight report authored by 250 leading scientists that predicts 25% of UK children will be clinically obese by 2050 – “so fat that their lives are in danger”.

Child food expert Annabel Karmel says that parents have a responsibility to protect their children from a ‘grim future’.

Mrs Karmel said we were “cultivating” generations of sedentary children condemned to suffer fatty livers, type 2 diabetes, strokes and coronary heart disease – children in danger of being outlived by their parents.

“This is serious – as a mother as well as a child food professional, I feel a great sense of responsibility to do my best to save our children from a grim future,” said Mrs Karmel, author of 22 books on baby and child nutrition and star of her own TV show, Annabel’s Kitchen.

She recommends limiting TV time, encourage kids to get active and choosing ‘smart snacks’ to cut children’s calorie intake.

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