A new study has revealed that chromic childhood health problems like obesity, asthma and learning and behavioral issues are now on a rise, and have managed to more than double over a period of 12 years.

In a study of children carried out on 1994, it was discovered that 12.8% of them had chronic health issues, and the number managed to hit 26.6% in 2006, when another group of the children of same age was studied.

'We knew before we started this study that childhood chronic diseases were generally on the rise. But this study really gives a better picture", said researcher Jeanne Van Cleave, MD, a pediatrician at Mass General Hospital for Children and an instructor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Despite the alarming figures, Dr. Van Cleave has managed to find a bright spot. 'The most important finding is that a lot of children will have chronic conditions during childhood, but a lot of these conditions will go away, will resolve over time", she stressed.

Details of the study have been published in the Journal of American Medical Association.