22,000 children severely obese at the end of primary

The number of 10 and 11-year-old children classed as severely obese in the final year of primary school is nearly double that of those in reception, new analysis by the Local Government Association has revealed.

Data obtained by the LGA and supplied by the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP), reveals that for 2016/17, a total of 22,646 out of 556,452 (4.1 per cent) of 10 and 11 year-old children in Year 6 are classed as severely obese.

This is nearly twice that of the 14,787 out of 629,359 children (2.35 per cent) of four and five year-old children in Reception classed as severely obese, showing children are gaining weight at a drastic rate as they go through schools.

Severe obesity rates vary significantly by area and are highest in children living in the most-deprived towns and cities, and those from BME groups.

The LGA said that the figures should serve as a “wake-up call” for action to tackle the obesity crisis.

The association says that the essential prevention work by councils, including their ability to provide weight management services for children and adults, is being hampered by a £600 million reduction in councils’ public health budgets by central government between 2015/16 and 2019/20.

The LGA is calling for reductions in public health grants to be reversed by the Government and for further reforms to tackle childhood obesity. This includes councils having a say in how and where the soft drinks levy is spent, better labelling on food and drink products, and for councils to be given powers to ban junk food advertising near schools.

Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “Cuts to councils’ public health grants by government are having a significant impact on the many prevention and early intervention services carried out by councils to combat child obesity. This short-sighted approach risks causing NHS costs to snowball due to the ill health consequences of obesity in our younger generation.

“Following the introduction of the sugar tax, we urge government to publish more details of its obesity strategy and to recognise councils’ key prevention role in tackling one of the greatest public health challenges this nation faces.”