The NHS is facing ‘a ticking time bomb’ because today’s youngsters are leading such unhealthy lifestyles, experts have warned.
Poor diet, smoking and a lack of exercise are to blame as figures show one in five secondary school aged children are already obese.
Late teenage years have been identified as the peak age for exposure to health risks with lifelong implications.
Yet the health service is not prepared to cope with the ‘forgotten generation’ and the burden that they will pose in the future, researchers say.
The report, by the Association for Young People’s Health (AYPH), revealed teenagers eat eight times the recommended sugar allowance and almost half have tooth decay.
The worrying research also found that almost all smokers start before the age of 25.
Six in ten chlamydia cases are in young adults and eating disorders are most commonly diagnosed at 15.
