Dramatic difference in body fat between rich and poor children, research finds
Research has found large differences in body fat mass between richer and poorer children (Gareth Fuller/PA)
Children from the UK’s poorest communities have far higher increases in body fat between the ages of seven and 17 compared with wealthier peers, a study has found.
Research by University College London (UCL) found that boys from the most deprived areas have 3% higher fat mass index (FMI) by the age of seven than those in the most advantaged areas.
By the age of 17, the FMI of boys from the most disadvantaged backgrounds jumps to an average of 23% higher.
University College London Children who live in the most deprived UK areas see far higher increases in body fat between the ages of seven and 17 compared to those from most advantaged areas, finds a new study by UCL researchers.
In the study, published in The Lancet Public Health, researchers found boys from the most deprived areas have a 3% higher fat mass index (FMI) at age seven compared to those from the most advantaged areas, and by 17 it is 23% higher.
Further, from the age of seven through to 17, these findings show there is an 11-fold increase in the difference in body fat gained among boys who live in the most deprived areas compared to peers from more advantaged socioeconomic areas.