Childhood obesity rate ‘storing up problems for the future’
More than one-third of Year 6 children in West Sussex are overweight or obese, a public health report has revealed.
During a meeting of the county’s Health and Wellbeing Board late last month, Alison Challenger, director of public health, said the 2020/21 figure of 35.7 per cent was an increase of 6.9 per cent compared to 2019/20.
The figures were described as ‘shocking’ by Natalie Brahma-Pearl, chief executive of Crawley Borough Council.
She said: “We need to be doing something about it now because we’re just storing up problems for the future if onethird of our children go into adulthood with obesity and, therefore, the health implications that come with that.”
Obesity was one of several public health priorities for 2022/23 which were discussed by the board.
Alcohol issues, smoking and mental health problems all raised concerns.
When it came to alcohol, it was reported that, in 2020/21, there was a significant rise in the numbers admitted to hospital for alcoholic liver disease.
The 410 cases, compared to 265 in 2019/20, was the highest rate recorded in the county in the past decade.
Ms Challenger said: “Harmful alcohol uptake has really increased over the last year or two.
“It’s not just about alcoholic liver disease, it impacts on a lot of other areas such as cancer, obesity, stroke, high blood pressure and depression.
“Alcohol is one of those areas that touches on pretty much all of our lives – and it’s very much an increasing issue for us.”
The death rate for alcoholic liver disease among the under 75s also increased significantly over the past couple of years.
In 2020 it stood at 11.2 cases per 100,000 population, compared to seven case per 100,000 population in 2019. But there was evidence that more people were seeking support.
There was a 21 per cent increase in referrals to the DrinkCoach online one-to-one service during 2020/21.
Health inequalities was a term often used during the health and wellbeing board meeting. Ms Challenger said there were ‘quite stark inequalities between the most affluent and the least affluent’ in the county – a gap which was widening.