One Merseyside borough has some of the country's fattest children, newly compiled figures have revealed.
A staggering 43% of 10- and 11-year-olds in Knowsley are now either overweight or obese, one of the highest proportions in the country.
New figures from the Child Measurement Programme have revealed that 726 Year 6 pupils in the area were classed as clinically overweight or obese this year - more than two in every five.
In neighbouring Liverpool, the proportion of Year 6 children who are either overweight or obese is 40%, followed by St Helens with 37%.
NHS chief executive Simon Stevens said obesity is 'a dangerous public health threat for our children, leading to a string of serious illnesses'
He said: “These figures show that, as a country, we are clearly not on track to meet the government's sensible goal of halving childhood obesity.
"While the NHS will be there for patients, services and budgets will obviously be placed under more strain.
“So we also need combined action from parents, businesses and government to safeguard our children from this preventable harm.”
The figures come a day after the former Chief Medical Officer Professor Dame Sally Davies called for snacking to be banned on public transport as part of a tougher line on tackling obesity.
Health experts have long linked obesity prevalence to deprivation, with the rate of obesity in children living in the poorest areas more than double that of those living in the least deprived.
