More than one in three children aged five to ten is overweight or obese, according to a new survey.

The report — which produced "truly disastrous" findings according to Bermuda's Health Promotion Coordinator — showed nearly 30 percent in the age bracket are obese, with another six percent overweight.

It also revealed one in ten youngsters under the age of three, and one in five aged three or four, is overweight or obese.

The 2006 Health Survey of Adults and Children in Bermuda, the Island's first effort to assess the health of children from birth, was unveiled by Health Minister Michael Scott at a press conference yesterday.

Mr. Scott said it highlighted the urgency for Government's Healthy Weight Action Plan launched last month, which calls for a string of measures to promote exercise and healthy diets.

Jennifer Attride-Stirling, Health Promotion Coordinator for the Department of Health, told The Royal Gazette: "It's an absolute nightmare — disastrous, it really and truly is.

"We do really well with maternity and infancy; the health of our mothers is good and they deliver in good health. But after they are born, things start to fall apart. So it's not just the healthcare system, it's the social failings.

"Five years after we produce these lovely, healthy babies, 36 percent of them are obese or overweight."

Dr. Attride-Stirling called for the whole population to tackle the problem, and said talks were ongoing with supermarkets, restaurants, vendors and schools to promote healthier options for people of all ages.

"Supermarkets putting that junk at the check-out counter — it's bad for the whole population," said Dr. Attride-Stirling. "Those chocolate bars, you think it's a little treat, but it's not.

"We can say within Government buildings if we are providing food for you, we want to provide stuff that's good for you.

"If nothing is done, the obesity rate will continue to go up at an exponential rate."

Suggesting many parents underestimate their youngsters' obesity problems, the survey showed 90 percent believed their child to be normal or underweight.

Girls (28 percent) are more likely to be overweight or obese than boys (20 percent), and black children (28 percent) more than white (17 percent). Mr. Scott said the racial divide was because blacks are more likely to live in low income households.

Explaining why young children were included in the study, Mr. Scott said: "It helps us to shape policy targeted towards our infants through to ten years, to pick up and identify health concerns."

Calling for parents to take action, he said: "Frankly, people who have access to disposal income, it's a question of choice. It's how they use the money to buy for their children."

The survey showed that adults are also continuing to have weight problems, with 61 percent classed as overweight or obese, up from 57 percent in 1999 — although a slight fall on a preliminary report, calculated differently, which suggested it would be 63 percent.

Dr. Attride-Stirling said the figures were calculated by collecting measurements from people over the telephone, and it was likely many overstated their height and understated their weight.

She warned this could mean the true obesity rate is even higher. It is proposed in the next survey researchers will measure people themselves, which would probably lead to "more stark" results.

Cholesterol levels have also soared, from eight percent in 1999 to 34 percent last year.

Diet habits revealed 18 percent of adults eat at least three servings of fruit per day, and 24 percent less than one serving.

Seventeen percent eat three or more servings of vegetables, and seven percent less than one serving. Meanwhile, 13 percent eat fast food meals at least three times a week, with seven percent every day.

The health action plan, launched in response to alarming rates in obesity and related illnesses, calls for tax cuts on healthy food and increases on fatty snacks, nutrition policies in schools and training health workers to counsel obese patients.

Asked if she was confident the plan would work, Dr. Attride-Stirling said: "I'm confident that it's the only thing that can."

The survey of 1,648 adults and 343 children was carried out by the Health Promotion Office in collaboration with the Department of Statistics throughout 2006.

* What do you think the solution is? Should there be a 'fat tax'? e-mail Tim Smith — tsmith@ royalgazette.bm.