UTTERLY SHAMEFUL
Inequality gap widening and requiring action
FIGURES showing more than a third of P1 kids in Scotland’s most deprived areas are at risk of being overweight or obese have been branded “utterly shameful”.
Doctors’ leaders spoke out after the data on childhood obesity was released by Public Health Scotland – revealing a large rise in children in P1 who were in this category.
The British Medical Association (BMA) insisted the figures showed that “urgent substantive action” to tackle childhood obesity and poor diet in Scotland was “long overdue”.
Statistics for the 2020-21 school year showed almost three out of 10 (29.5 per cent) P1 kids were at risk of either being overweight or obese – up from 22.7 per cent the previous year.
Overall, the research found 69.8 per cent of P1 children had a healthy weight, while 0.8 per cent were at risk of being underweight. In 202021, the report found 35.7 per cent of P1 pupils in the most deprived areas were at risk of being either overweight or obese – a rise of 8.4 points on the previous year.
Meanwhile, in the least deprived areas, 20.8 per cent of P1 youngsters were at risk of being overweight or obese, with this up by 3.6 per cent on 2019-20.
Dr Graeme Eunson, chair of the BMA’s Scottish consultants committee, said: “It is utterly shameful the health inequality gap in children is widening and unless we act now it will only continue to contribute to poorer health in the future.”
The increase in the proportion of youngsters at risk of being overweight or obese comes as the Scottish Government is trying to halve levels of childhood obesity by 2030.
Scottish Tory public health spokeswoman, Sue Webber, said: “These figures should be an urgent wake-up call to SNP Ministers.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We want Scotland to be the best place in the world for a child to grow up.”