SHOCK NUMBER OF CITY KIDS OBESE

CHILDREN in Coventry are some of the fattest in the country - with 38 per cent of 10 and 11-year-olds now overweight or obese.

New figures from the Child Measurement Programme have revealed that 1,637 Year 6 pupils in the city were classed as clinically overweight or obese this year nearly two in every five.

That’s one of the highest levels in the country, and compares to a rate of around one in three Year 6 pupils across England.

While around 16 per cent of Year 6 pupils in Coventry are overweight, nearly 23 per cent are obese.

The figure includes 221 kids (Five per cent of all Year 6 pupils in the city) who are severely obese, meaning they have a BMI of 40 or more.

That would be the equivalent of a 4ft 8in boy - the average height for a 10 year old weighing in at nearly 13 stone.

Meanwhile, more than a fifth of all Reception children in Coventry are also overweight or obese, with 12 per cent overweight and 10 per cent obese. More than three per cent of all four and fiveyear-olds in the city are severely obese. NHS chief executive Simon Stevens said: “Obesity is a dangerous public health threat for our children, leading to a string of serious illnesses.

“These figures show that, as a country, we are clearly not on track to meet the government’s sensible goal of halving childhood obesity.

“While the NHS will be there for patients, services and budgets will obviously be placed under more strain.

“So we also need combined action from parents, businesses and government to safeguard our children from this preventable harm.”

Childhood obesity is not just a problem in Coventry the rate is also particularly high in some parts of Warwickshire.

In both North Warwickshire and Nuneaton and Bedworth, 23% of children in Year 6 and 10% of children in Reception have a BMI of 30 or more.

Warwick has a much lower rate in comparison - only 14% of Year 6 pupils and 7% of Reception pupils in the area are obese.

Obesity prevalence is strongly linked to deprivation, with the rate of obesity in children living in the poorest areas more than double that of those living in the least deprived.

The figures come at the same time as a report by former Chief Medical Officer Professor Dame Sally Davies has called for the Government to take tougher action on obesity.

In the report, she said snacking should be banned on public transport and extra taxes placed on unhealthy foods, and also called for tighter rules on advertising and takeaways.

Health experts welcomed her recommendations, saying children are being denied the start in life they deserve.

Professor Dame Parveen Kumar, board of science chair at the British Medical Association, said: “We welcome this much-needed report.

“It is a tragedy that so many children are being exposed to and tempted by junk food, jeopardising the healthy start in life they deserve.

“As this report makes clear, bolder, more ambitious action is needed to improve child health.

“Childhood obesity can have wider, serious health effects from type 2 diabetes, respiratory problems and wider psychological issues to increased risk of life-threatening illnesses into adulthood.

“The Government and industry are continuing to let down our children by missing vital opportunities to make food and drinks healthier for our children and give many of them a far better start to life than they have currently. This must stop.”