An increase in food allergies could be driven by rising childhood obesity levels, suggests new research. Scientists found that allergic reactions, particularly food allergies, were higher among obese children. The International Association for the Study of Obesity estimating in 2006 that the number of obese school age children in Europe increased by almost 50% since the late 1990s. At the same time, the number of allergic disease has also been rising. Almost 1 in 10 children in the EU suffer from food allergies, the most common food allergen ingredients being cereals containing gluten, fish, crustaceans, eggs and peanuts.