How many children die from obesity?

In the US; 13,7 million children are obese, or one out of five children (14% of 2-5-year-olds, 18,5% of 6-11-year-olds, and 20,5% of 12-19-year-olds) Being obese as a child increases the probability of dying before age 55 by more than double and lowers the life expectancy by 10 to 20 years  

Very little data exists with regards to the number of children dying from being obese, but a review of studies and current data suggests that obese children on average lives 10 to 20 years shorter than their healthy peers

According to WHO, obesity amongst children is approaching epidemic proportions globally, and in 2016 an estimated 41 million preschool children were overweight and thus prime candidates for becoming obese adults

In 2019 it was estimated that more than 150 million children were obese, estimated increasing to 260 million by 2025, according to Childhood Obesity Foundation

Even more worryingly than the above data itself, statistics show that 4/5 of obese children will remain obese into adulthood…

As for the US, around 17 percent, or 12,7 million children and adolescents are estimated being obese, with numbers increasing every year

Obese children are more prone to lifestyle diseases and as such, it is critical to end childhood obesity before maturing into adulthood. But with 2,8 million people dying each year from obesity, how many of these are children?

Turns out, an answer is hard to find…

According to WebMD, being obese as a child increases the probability of dying before age 55 by more than double. No doubt then, that childhood obesity contributes to premature death, and considering that one in 6 children in the US are obese -alarm bells should be ringing

The primary contributors to death amongst people dying prematurely that had been obese as children?

-Cardiovascular diseases

-Infections

-Cancer

-Type 2 diabetes

-Liver disease

-Hypertension

-Stroke

…Plus alcoholic liver and drug overdoses (yes, obesity promotes depression and depression may lead to substance abuse) as studies show childhood obesity being linked to higher risk of anxiety, depression and premature death

Turns out, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) have the best answer for our inquiry as to how many children are dying from obesity, in principle stating that there are no reliable numbers for children… Whilst solid data points to childhood obesity shaving off between 10 -20 years of the overall lifespan

…In effect meaning that we already have between 15 and 30 million children that will lose 10 to 20 years of their adult life due to currently being obese