Latest figures show 8.8% of 4- 5 years old in the South West are obese

Latest figures show 8.8% of 4- 5 years old in the South West are obese
  • Latest figures show 8.8 % of Reception children in South West are obese compared to 8.5% in 2016
  • Nationally, 9.6% of Reception Year children in the 2016/17 school year are obese compared to 9.3% in 2015/16
  • Local authority breakdown of data available at end of release
  • Nationally, the number of obese children in the most deprived areas is more than double than the least deprived
  • Public Health England (PHE) is tackling childhood obesity through its world-leading sugar and calorie reduction programmes

New figures from Public Health England (PHE) show the number of obese children in South West has remained stable  from 8.8% in 2016/17 4-5 year olds up from 8.5% in 2015/16. The picture is more positive for year 6 children with 16.3% in 2015/16 going down to 16.2% in 2016/17.

Nationally, the gap between the richest and poorest in society has also continued to widen. There are more than twice the number of obese children in the most deprived areas than those in the least deprived areas.

The data is taken from the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP), which determines the weight of children in Reception Year (aged 4-5 years) and Year 6 (aged 10-11 years) in schools across the country. In some areas, children’s weight status is shared with their parents to help them understand their child’s growth and consider positive lifestyle changes.

Children who are overweight or obese are more likely to suffer from poor self-esteem, bullying and tooth decay in childhood. They are also more likely to be overweight or obese adults, which can lead to a range of preventable illnesses including heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.

As well as causing avoidable suffering to millions, obesity is putting our health and care systems under increasing financial strain.

Justine Womack, Health and Wellbeing Programme Lead said: “These latest figures show that our children need every opportunity for a healthy life and our NHS is under increasing demand.

“Childhood obesity is the challenge of a generation and more joined-up local action is needed if we are serious about giving our children the future they deserve.”

With the government’s Childhood Obesity Plan published a year ago, huge steps are already being taken to help children avoid a lifetime of poor health.

PHE has launched a comprehensive sugar reduction programme and has begun work to tackle excess calorie consumption, while the Soft Drinks Industry Levy has become law and will take effect from April 2018. Leading retailers and manufacturers have announced they are, or already have, lowered the amount of sugar in their products as a result of these programmes.

PHE’s Change4Life campaign is also helping millions of families to make healthier choices through meal swap suggestions and the Be Food Smart app, to identify the sugar, salt and fat in food. It also supports schools to help them embed healthier habits into everyday school life.

Progress on childhood obesity will be monitored through the yearly NCMP data, but with obesity rates increasing over many years, significant change will take time.

Eustace De Sousa, national lead for children, young people and families at PHE, said: “A healthy weight in childhood lays the foundations for decades of healthy life as an adult. This data underlines how important it is for families to talk about health and weight as part of everyday life.

“Each year, more children leave primary school overweight or obese and our most deprived areas are the worst affected. It’s never too soon to make a change and there is lots of support from councils and Change4Life to help.

Local authority data – 2015/16 data

Year 2015/16 2016/17 2015/16 2016/17
Reception Prevalence Reception Prevalence Year 6 Prevalence Year 6Prevalence
   
SOUTH WEST 8.5 8.8 16.3 16.2
Bath and North East Somerset 7.4 8.8 13.6 13.8
Bournemouth 6.2 8.5 14.8 15.7
Bristol, City of 9.4 9.9 21.2 19.8
Cornwall 10.2 9.9 17.3 15.1
Devon 7.7 8.4 14.8 15.3
Dorset 8.5 8.0 14.1 13.6
Gloucestershire 8.7 9.2 17.7 17.1
North Somerset 8.2 8.8 14.6 14.6
Plymouth 10.4 10.9 15.7 16.9
Poole 7.5 6.7 16.4 16.6
Somerset 8.4 8.7 15.3 16.3
South Gloucestershire 6.4 7.1 15.5 14.3
Swindon 8.5 9.7 17.3 20.6
Torbay 9.5 8.3 18.0 19.6
Wiltshire 8.0 8.1 15.7 15.4

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