‘This threat to our children’s health will not be reversed overnight’

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the day. These children are our future - if we do not do anything about it it’s only going to get worse.”

Figures, which have been released under the National Child Measure Programme, overseen by Public Health England, show that 24.8 percent of pupils in our city are classed as obese.

This is a rise from 24.5 percent the year before.

In comparison, the national average for Year Six obese children stands at 20.1 percent.

Speaking about why children are getting fatter, Ms Regan said more were staying inside to play on computer games and devices such as ipads.

“That keeps them quiet at home,” she said. “They do not want to go out and play – they want to play on those. That’s one of the problems.”

The figures also show that 6.6 percent of Year Six children in the city are classed as “severely obese”, which means they have a BMI of 40 or more.

This jumped from 5.3 percent in 2016-17.

To put the “severely obese” children into context, it is thought this would be the equivalent of a 4ft 8in boy – the average height for a 10-year-old – weighing in at nearly 13 stone.

The latest figures also show 19 percent of Year Six children in the rest of Nottinghamshire are classed as obese - a jump from 17.4 percent the year before.

And 3.7 percent are severely obese – a rise from 3 percent.

Miss Regan decided to tackle the problem head-on by introducing weekly one-hour fitnesses classes for children in Years Three, Four, Five and Six.

Two separate sessions take place and around 120 children participate during the school day – a move Ms Regan said improved children’s fitness and concentration in the classroom.

Councillors, meanwhile, said it was an issue they would not “shy away from”.

Councillor Sam Webster, portfolio holder for health at Nottingham City Council, said: “Almost four in every 10 pupils are leaving primary school classed as either overweight or obese and this cannot continue without serious health consequences for these youngsters in adulthood - ultimately it will reduce their life expectancy.

“The Health and Wellbeing Board is aware of this and we are calling on parents to work with us, and our partners, to make changes today around what they feed their children, give them to drink and how much exercise they do.”

He added: “This threat to our children’s health has been decades in the making. We’re moving in the right direction but reversing it will not happen overnight.”