Fat children should be given weight loss surgery because it is safe and can improve their health, scientists say.
Medics are cautious about offering bariatric surgery to overweight youngsters amid fears it could disrupt their growth.
But a Saudi Arabian study today dismissed the concerns, prompting researchers to say the benefits of the procedure were 'clear'.
Results showed the surgery helped them to keep weight off a decade after the operation, and reverse type 2 diabetes. It also did not stunt their growth in height.
Lead author Dr Aayed Alqahtani, a professor of bariatric surgery from King Saud University, said: 'If you surgically intervene early, you can cure children’s obesity-related diseases early and improve their quality of life.
'If you wait longer, their diseases might become irreversible.'
Britain has one of the worst childhood obesity rates in Europe, with around one in ten youngsters falling into the category. In the US two in ten children are obese.
Obese children should be offered bariatric surgery because it is safe and works, according to a study (file image)
NHS doctors already offer weight-loss operations, which can cost up to £15,000, to obese children in rare circumstances.
Normally this surgery is only carried out on patients when their life is deemed to be at risk, and other interventions such as diets have failed.
The most common procedures are gastric bypass, where surgical staples are used to create a small pouch at the top of the stomach.
Others include gastric band surgery, when an elastic band is put around the top of the stomach to restrict the amount of food it can hold.
