LONDON -- A new report provides disturbing news about the health of the world's children.

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The International Obesity Task Force study found that one in 10 of the world's schoolchildren is overweight, for a total of about 155 million kids between the ages of 5 and 17. And about 45 million of them have an increased risk of developing diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses before they leave their teens.

The findings have been submitted to the World Health Organization ahead of a critical vote by the group's ministers on the adoption of a global strategy on diet, physical activity and health.

The Americas are far ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to percentage of overweight and obese children. But other nations aren't too far behind.

Graph: Childhood Obesity Worldwide

South Africa was an example of a developing country where 25 percent of girls ages 13 to 19 were overweight, similar to the U.S. average, although the figure for boys in South Africa was lower at 7 percent.

Childhood obesity has increased steadily in Europe, with the highest prevalence in southern European countries. In northern Europe, 10 to 20 percent of children were overweight on average, compared to 20 to 30 percent of children in southern Europe.

Recent surveys found that 36 percent of 9-year-olds in mainland Italy and Sicily were overweight or obese, while in Greece, the prevalence was 26 percent in boys and 19 percent in girls ages 6 to 17. In Spain, 27 percent of children were affected. In the United Kingdom, the figure reached 20 percent of children in 1998, using the IOTF's strict reference assessment methods.

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