Where in England are the fattest 5 year olds?

The childhood obesity epidemic shows no signs of slowing as new Government data reveals reception-aged kids in Britain are getting fatter.

Figures obtained by NHS Digital reveal that 22.6 per cent of youngsters aged around five and in the very first year of school are overweight or obese.

It is a jump on the 22.1 per cent recorded in 2015/16, and is slowly creeping towards the record high set a decade ago (22.9 per cent).

The data also highlighted a staggering North-South divide, with regions traditionally regarded as the most ‘deprived’ having almost double the prevalence of childhood obesity.  

Data from the National Child Measurement Programme for England showed 31.5 per cent of reception-aged children were overweight or obese in Barrow-in-Furness. 

However, at the other end of the scale in Waverley in Surrey, just 14.7 per cent of four and five year olds were registered under either fat bracket. 

Similar concerns were raised for children in year 6, who were also measured as part of the statistics. Some 34.2 per cent of kids aged 10 or 11 were deemed overweight or obese. 

Experts have slammed the ‘devastating’ statistics, warning children from deprived backgrounds have the ‘odds stacked against them’. 

Obesity in childhood can light the fuse for a lifetime of deadly ailments, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease and several forms of cancer. 

Urgent action needed 

Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at Public Health England, said: ‘Children deserve a healthy future and these figures are a reminder that addressing childhood obesity requires urgent action.

‘There is no single solution to reverse what’s been decades in the making. We need sustained actions to tackle poor diets and excess calorie intakes.’ 

Tam fry, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said: ‘It is iniquitous that these these levels are still rising. 

‘The Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has described childhood obesity as a “great scandal” but does little to tackle it.’ 

What else did the data show? 

The figures, based on data from all state schools, showed Carlisle had the second biggest proportion of fat children, with 31 per cent either overweight or obese.

Havant in Hampshire followed shortly behind (28.2 per cent), as did Allerdale, Cumbria (28.1 per cent) and Gravesham, Kent (28 per cent).

Kingston upon Thames (15 per cent) was found to the second lowest proportion of skinny four and five year olds, the data issued on collaboration with the Office for National Statistics showed.

Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire and Fylde, Lancashire, rounded up the third and fourth best positions (15.6 per cent). 

The figures also showed that boys were more likely to be fat than girls, regardless of how old they were. 

Commenting on the data, Caroline Cerny, of the Obesity Health Alliance Lead, said: ‘Each year the childhood obesity statistics tell the same devastating story.

‘Obesity continues to rise and it’s the children from the most deprived backgrounds who have the odds stacked against them.

‘Nearly one in ten children are obese when they first start school and children from the most deprived areas are more than twice as likely to be affected.

Figures obtained by NHS Digital reveal that 22.6 per cent of youngsters in the very first year of school are overweight or obese (stock)

‘Failing to tackle obesity means failing our children, and if today’s figures tell us anything, it’s that there’s a long way to go before the battle is won.’

She demanded ‘immediate action’ to restrict junk food marketing at children, both online and on TV before the 9pm watershed.

Government plans 

The Government came under intense pressure over its childhood obesity plan, released last August, which campaigners argue was heavily watered down. 

Curbs on junk food advertising and restrictions on unhealthy product placement in supermarkets were among measures cut from a draft of strategy, it was claimed.

A first draft of the plan leaked to Channel 4’s Dispatches was alleged to contain a pledge to halve the number of overweight children by 2026.

This, producers said, was changed to a pledge to ‘significantly reduce’ the number of overweight children when the full strategy was published last August.

But have they been watered down? 

Among other proposals removed from the final strategy were supposedly plans to force restaurants, cafes and takeaways to put calorie information on menus.

Supermarkets would have been forced to remove junk food from around check-outs and the end of aisles and junk-food advertising would have been curbed.

The final strategy did include a ‘sugar tax’ on the soft drinks industry, which has since prompted many manufacturers to slash their levels.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said in 2015 that he would ensure the ‘great scandal’ of childhood obesity was one of his main priorities.