Child obesity figures return to rising trend

Concern regarding the obesity crisis has grown as a new report by NHS Digital reveals that a growing number of children are becoming obese as young as four or five years old.

The latest annual measurements of children’s body mass index (BMI), recorded in the national child measurement programme (NCMP), shows that obesity is rising among children both in their first and last years at primary school, with 9.3 per cent of four- and five-year-olds in 2015-16 were classed as obese.

After falling slightly in 2014-15, the number of obese 10- and 11-year-olds in their last primary school year also rose from 19.1 per cent to 19.8 per cent last year. This equals nearly one in five.

Regional analysis showed that Richmond upon Thames in south-west London has the fewest obese children in England, with only 11 per cent of Year six pupils being classed as obese. On the other side of the scale, the east London borough of Barking and Dagenham was found to have 28.5 per cent of children obese at the same age.

The NHS Digital statistics also underlined the stark class divide, with obesity prevalence for children in Reception living in the most deprived areas (12.5 per cent) recorded as more than double that of those living in the least deprived areas (5.5 per cent). This worrying range was mirrored in Year 6 where 26 per cent of children living in the most deprived areas being obese compared with 11.7 per cent in the least deprived areas.

The National Child Measurement Programme, launched in the 2005/06 academic year, collects height and weight measurements of children in Reception (aged four and five years) and Year 6 (aged 10-11 years) primarily in state-maintained schools in England. Data collected from independent or special schools are excluded from the analysis.