One child in every class in the final year of primary school is severely obese on average, an all-time high, official figures show.
Public Health England (PHE) said that one in 25 (4.07%) of 10- to 11-year-olds in year six in 2016-17 were severely obese, meaning they are at risk of serious acute and chronic health problems.
The statistics, published on Tuesday, also identified an upward trend in the proportion of year six children who are overweight and those who are obese.
Stark health inequalities continue to widen, according to the analysis, with the prevalence of children who are overweight, obese and severely obese higher in the most deprived areas, compared with the least deprived. The trend is occurring at a faster rate in year six than reception.
Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at Public Health England, said: “The rise in severe obesity and widening health inequalities highlight why bold measures are needed to tackle this threat to our children’s health.
“These trends are extremely worrying and have been decades in the making – reversing them will not happen overnight.”
Severe obesity increases risk of diseases including type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. It is defined as a body mass index (BMI) on or above the 99.6th percentile for a child’s age and sex, based on a growth reference calculated using historic data. A higher proportion of boys – approximately one in 21 or 4.78% – were found to be severely obese than girls – one in 30 or 3.33% – in 2016-17.
Last month, the government announced the latest component in its childhood obesity plan, intended to help halve childhood obesity by 2030.
The measures, which will go out for consultation later this year, include banning shops from offering special “two for the price of one” deals near supermarket checkouts for food high in sugar, fat or salt.
Tam Fry, chair of the National Obesity Forum, said the severe obesity figure was a result of government negligence and warned its plan to turn things around is “not as bold as it should be”.
He said: “Since the late 1980s, children have not been measured to identify the first signs of unhealthy weight gain – at a time when intervention would certainly have brought positive results – and millions of children have simply been left to pile on the pounds unmonitored.
“Even though specialists over the years have warned successive governments that such an approach would result in the figures reported this week, their advice has been ignored.”
