England’s childhood obesity crisis is being laid bare today in an eye-opening interactive map which reveals where children are too overweight when they start secondary school.
Stark figures show that 47 per cent of sixth-formers in Knowsley, Merseyside, are classed as overweight or obese.
For comparison, this is almost double the levels recorded in leafy areas such as Surrey and Richmond-upon-Thames.according to the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities.
Experts have described this significant variation across different parts of England as a “postcode lottery”. and the government was forced to admit that Britain was mired in a “childhood obesity crisis”.
Nationally, the rate still stands at more than a third (36.6 percent), despite having declined slightly since COVID began.
However, according to official figures, this is a three percent increase since 2015.
Each year, more than one million children have their height and weight measured according to the National Child Measurement Program (NCMP).
Among sixth graders, national obesity fell from 23.4 percent in 2021/22 to 22.7 percent.
Meanwhile, the proportion of young people considered overweight or obese also decreased, from 37.8 percent to 36.6 percent. Both measures are above pre-pandemic levels.
But when broken down by local authority, data commissioned from the House of Commons library by the Liberal Democrats showed 47.2 per cent of sixth-form pupils were overweight or obese in Knowsley.
The London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham and Newham followed with rates of 45.7 and 45.5 per cent respectively.
Barking and Dagenham also ranked highest for obesity, with almost a third (31.7 per cent) of 10- and 11-year-olds classified as obese.
Outside London, rates of combined overweight and obesity were 45.2 per cent in Sandwell and 44.8 per cent in Wolverhampton.
In Surrey, by contrast, obesity and overweight accounted for 24.9 percent, with 25.1 percent in Richmond upon Thames.
Cambridge recorded the biggest rise in overweight children since 2015, with the proportion of year 6 children classed as overweight rising by almost 68 per cent.
More than one million children had their height and weight measured under the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP). Nationally, the rate among sixth-grade children stands at more than a third, despite having declined slightly since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Nottinghamshire areas also reported significant increases in childhood obesity over the past nine years, including Rushcliffe (67 per cent increase), Mansfield (65 per cent increase) and Bassetlaw (57 per cent increase).
Dr Adam Briggs, Senior Policy Researcher at the Health Foundation, said: The times‘Combating childhood obesity will require much tougher measures against the marketing and sale of unhealthy foods.
‘Our latest poll with Ipsos also shows that there is broad public support for taxes on unhealthy foods, with the revenue being used to fund healthy foods for low-income families.
‘Failure to invest in vital preventative services will mean worsening health and widening health inequalities, which will be felt throughout society and the economy.’
Childhood obesity has been a growing problem for years, with easy access to fast food, increased screen time and sedentary lifestyles responsible for soaring rates in parts of the UK.
The NCMP, which is responsible for the current data, was set up in state-funded schools in England in 2006 and was seen as a key element of the previous government’s war on childhood obesity.
The NCMP measures children’s height and weight, which are then used to generate a body mass index.
This is compared to a national scale to determine whether that child is underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese.
But last year, researchers at Queen Mary University of London warned that the programme could do more harm than good and potentially encourage eating disorders in children.
Parents of skinny children have even complained that their children are wrongly labeled as fat.
Responding to today’s figures, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘We are facing a childhood obesity crisis, setting children up for unhealthy lives and increasing pressures on the NHS.
“This Government will address this directly.”
‘We have commissioned Lord Darzi to set out the state of the nation’s health service.
‘Their findings will inform our 10-year plan to radically reform the NHS and build a future-proof health service capable of tackling the obesity crisis head-on.
“We will shift our focus from treatment to prevention to relieve pressure on the NHS and help people live well for longer.”
Labour ministers have pledged to introduce tough restrictions on junk food advertising, along with a ban on children being able to buy sugary and highly caffeinated energy drinks.
This comes after the World Health Organization also revealed last year that 37 million children under five are overweight worldwide, four million more than at the beginning of the century.
Australia ranked second in the table of 198 countries, with 21.8 per cent of children classified as overweight.
Great Britain ranked 22nd (11.3 percent), while the United States ranked 52nd (7.9 percent).
The WHO has warned that global obesity is “moving in the wrong direction” and shows “no immediate sign of reversing.”
Obesity not only increases waistlines, but also healthcare costs: the NHS spends an estimated £6.1 billion a year treating weight-related conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.