Children as young as 7 have admitted to being bullied over their weight
A recent survey has discovered that a quarter of young children under 10 feel overweight.
This data was released in light of a new programme aired on ITV last week titled "Dying to be thin", for which the poll was commissioned.
Carried out by Onepoll and Youngpoll, the survey also found that 28% of young people aged 7-18 had been bullied over their weight and 26% had missed a meal in order to lose weight.
Lucie Russell, Director of Campaigns, Policy and Participation at the UK's leading children charity YoungMinds said: "It is vital that these statistics are not dismissed and we act on our responsibilities as adults to help children feel better about themselves. Children today are growing up in a harsh environment with constant pressure to keep up with the latest consumer trends and look and act in a certain way. We must look as a society at what pressure we put young people under."
So where does the problem lie? Is it a parents responsibility to feed their child and ensure they are healthy and well taught about the importance of eating right and doing exercise?
Or is there too much pressure on children to look a certain way? With children as young as 7 years old missing meals because they want to lose weight, it's certainly a worrying situation.
The number of overweight children is growing at an alarming rate and in the UK around 27% of children are considered overweight.
Unless due to a genetic condition, childhood obesity is caused through consuming too many calories and not doing enough exercise.
The NHS recommend children under 5 should do 180 minutes of physical activity every day, and young people aged 5-18 should do at least 60 minutes every day.
Alexandra Baracskai