Child obesity stats revealed

More than a third of Year 6 pupils in Peterborough are classed as obese or overweight.

New figures from NHS Digital show 14.2 per cent of Year 6 pupils at schools in the local authority area are overweight and 22 per cent are obese.

For children in reception, 14.2 per cent are overweight and 8.9 per cent are obese.

In the rest of Cambridgeshire, 27.2 per cent of Year 6 pupils are overweight or obese, compared to 34.2 per cent for the whole of England

Cllr Diane Lamb, Peterborough City Council cabinet member for public health, said “We have a number of services which work to support children and families in maintaining a healthy weight. These include health visiting and school nursing services, the Food for Life Programme working in several local primary schools and services delivered through our integrated Lifestyle Provider ‘Solutions4Health’.”

Vivacity, which runs leisure and sporting services in the city, said it offers free swimming for under 5s, sports clubs and sports holiday clubs, and discounted gym access for children aged 11 to 15.