Third of year six pupils across borough ‘obese’
SANDWELL has the highest level of obesity among children in their final year of primary school in deprived areas of England, it has been revealed.
A third of year 6 youngsters in its schools are obese according to new data from NHS Digital.
It showed 33.7% of the children aged 10 and 11 are obese.
Nationally, almost one in three children (31.3%) in their final year of primary school in deprived areas of England are obese, according to the new figures. That is more than double the 13.5% in the least deprived areas.
Tam Fry, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said: “Successive Conservative governments have consistently failed to tackle obesity and this is felt most in deprived areas. It is shocking that overcrowded areas in Midland towns have nearly three times more obese children than towns in the leafy South.
“It is appalling that neither the re-instated Health Secretary, Steve Barclay, nor Therese Coffey in her time at the Department of Health uttered a word on how they planned to tackle obesity in general or the plight of children living in deprivation.”
Across the whole of England, 23.4% of children in year 6 are obese, of whom 5.8% are severely obese.
A further 14.3% are overweight, meaning almost four in 10 children aged 10 and 11 are overweight or obese in England.
Across the country, when it comes to reception class (the first year of primary school, aged four and five), 10.1% of youngsters are obese, of whom 2.9% are severely obese.
A further 12.1% are overweight, meaning more than one in five of all children in this age group are overweight or obese.
The overall data for England, which has been finalised after being initially published in July, shows that there has been a drop in the last year in childhood obesity compared to high levels during the Covid pandemic.
The report also showed that boys are more likely to be obese than girls. For example, in year 6, some 26.4% of boys were obese compared to 20.4% of girls.
In reception class, there was also double the obesity in the most deprived regions of England when compared to the wealthiest areas.
Some 13.6% of reception children in deprived areas were obese, compared to 6.2% of those living in the least deprived areas.