It has been revealed that children as young as 10 have had hip replacements on the NHS because they are so overweight, as Britain’s obesity crisis has been laid bare.
Alarming figures have shown that nine children between 10 and 14 years of age have needed the operation as a result of being overweight in the last five years.
Knee replacements caused by obesity skyrocketed by 46 per cent across all age groups in just two years while hip replacements due to weight have risen by 22 per cent.
According to NHS data obtained by The Sun, the increase is thought to be linked with young adults and middle aged people having surgery sooner than usual due to extra strain on their joints.
24 per cent of four and five-year-old's are very overweight or obese
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However, overweight pensioners receiving these surgeries has also surged since 2019.
Concerning figures from 2023 found that 24 per cent of four and five-year-old's are very overweight or obese. One in three 10 to 11-year-olds suffer from obesity.
In 2024, 38 children were admitted to hospital per day with an obesity diagnosis, marking a 10 per cent increase from 2023.
The Covid-19 pandemic saw numbers rise while children were out of school, with obesity rates rising by 45 per cent for five-year-old's.
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Speaking to The Sun, the head of the National Obesity Forum Tam Fry called the findings “truly shocking”.
He said: “This sort of thing is ruinous for the country because not only are they obese as children but they will get more obese as they get older. They will then get other diseases on top of their obesity.”
Fry explained how the cost of living crisis may lead to parents buying cheap food, which is often the unhealthiest choice, leading to the surging numbers.
This comes as figures in November revealed that almost a third of children in certain areas of England are obese by the time they start secondary school.
Nationally, the obesity rate dropped slightly from last year, however it is still higher than figures recorded pre-lockdowns
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31 per cent of Year 6 students in Knowsley, Merseyside, are obese - over twice the amount of levels in areas such as Surrey and Richmond-upon-Thames.
Nationally, the obesity rate dropped slightly from last year, however it is still higher than figures recorded pre-lockdowns.
Health officials have called the figures “concerning”, warning that the NHS “cannot solve” Britain's childhood obesity crisis “alone”.
The numbers come from the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP), which measure the height and weight of more than a million children every year.
