A third of 10-year-olds in poor areas are obese

ONE in three children aged ten in deprived areas are now obese – with the rate more than double that of wealthier districts, figures show.

Some 13.6 per cent of children in poorer regions are obese when they start primary school, rising to 31.3 per cent by the time they leave.

But the figures are just 6.2 per cent and 13.5 per cent respectively for pupils in more affluent regions.

The disparity is even greater for severe obesity, with a threefold difference between the least and most deprived areas at the age of five and a four-fold difference at the age of ten.

The National Child Measurement Programme, overseen by the Government’s Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, measures the height and weight of children in England annually.

Being overweight as a child increases the odds of being overweight as an adult, which raises the risk of heart disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes.

Obesity rates in five-yearolds had been relatively stable since 2006/7 but increased from 9.9 per cent in 2019/20 to 14.4 per cent in 2020/21, the year of the Covid pandemic. The latest data shows a decrease to 10.1 per cent in 2021/22. For children in Year Six – ten and 11-year- olds – obesity rates rose from 19 per cent in 2010/11 to 21 per cent in 2019/20 and then jumped to 25.5 per cent in 2020/21. This fell to 23.4 per cent in 2021/22.

Paediatricians said Covid lockdowns, which restricted children’s ability to take part in sport, were partly to blame for the rise in obesity during the pandemic. Many had to stay at home where they played computer games, watched TV and ate comfort food. The return to school and resumption of exercise classes has allowed many to return to normal activities.

But almost half (49.1 per cent) of Year Six children in Barking and Dagenham, east London, were overweight or obese in 2021/22, which was higher than any other local authority area. Richmond upon Thames, in south-west London, had the lowest rate of overweight and obese ten and 11-year-olds at 24.5 per cent.

The figures show boys are more likely to be obese than girls – in Year Six, 26.4 per cent of boys were obese compared with 20.4 per cent of girls.

Dr Helen Stewart, from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: ‘Today’s data reaffirms the intrinsic link between obesity and poverty. It’s inherently wrong that these children can be placed at such a disadvantage before even leaving primary school.’

‘Lockdowns are partly to blame’