Children being admitted to hospital due to obesity have surged by 40% in a year.
Almost 9,000 under-17s were admitted to hospital with a secondary diagnosis of obesity in England.
Separate data for 2021/22 showed 34 toddlers aged under four were taken to hospital because of a primary diagnosis of obesity.
The latest surge in obesity admissions comes after it fell during the pandemic.
Professor Jason Halford, president of the European Association for the Study of Obesity and head of psychology at Leeds University, warned pandemic habits have had a lasting effect.
He said: “Children’s activity levels were a significant problem before the pandemic but with kids being hunkered down, they’ve got out of the habit of playing together.
“They’re going to interact more online now. So we know the pandemic has had a significant negative impact on childhood obesity rates.”
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A secondary diagnosis for obesity is when dangerously high weight is a contributing factor.
Admissions fell to 6,261 in 2020/21 in under-16s but have surged back up to 8,771 in 2021/22. Childhood complications from obesity include breathing, bones and joints and liver problems.
