Shropshire Star

More than one in 10 five-year-olds obese

Health figures have revealed that 13 per cent of five-year-olds and those in the first year of school in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin are overweight.

Published
13 per cent of five-year-olds and those in the first year of school in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin are overweight

New NHS Digital data also shows that in Shropshire 13.2 percent are overweight and 8.6 per cent obese. While in Telford & Wrekin 13.2 per cent are overweight and 11.4 per cent obese.

However, the figures show the region is faring much better than the national average of 22.6 per cent which is raising concern among nutrition experts that parents are overfeeding their children with the effect of leading them along the path to a lifetime of health problems. Obesity in childhood can result in conditions including type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

It is an increase on the 22.1 per cent recorded in 2015/16 and is slowly creeping towards the record high of 22.9 per cent reported a decade ago.

David Elliott, health and wellbeing manager for Public Health West Midlands (PHE), said: “These latest figures should be a wake-up call – our children need every opportunity for a healthy life and our NHS is under increasing demand. Childhood obesity is the challenge of a generation and more joined-up local action is needed if we are serious about giving our children the future they deserve.”

Under the government’s Childhood Obesity Plan published last year steps are already being taken to help children avoid a lifetime of poor health.

PHE has launched a comprehensive sugar reduction programme and has begun work to tackle excess calorie consumption, while the Soft Drinks Industry Levy has become law and will take effect from April 2018. Some manufacturers have announced they are, or already have, lowered the amount of sugar in their products as a result.

Caroline Cerny, of the Obesity Health Alliance, has called for "immediate action" to restrict junk food marketing at children both online and before the 9pm TV watershed.

Studies of the National Child Measurement Programme for England showed that Barrow-in-Furness, in Cumbria, has the highest number of fat of five and six-year-olds at 31.5 per cent while Waverley, in Surrey, had the lowest with 14.7 per cent of registered as either overweight or obese.

Similar concerns were raised for Year six pupils, aged 10 and 11, who were also measured as part of the statistics. Some 34.2 per cent of them were deemed overweight or obese. Black children were most likely to be obese in both Year six and reception, while white and Chinese pupils were least likely for those in year six.

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

In 2014 around one in 10 children in Shropshire were obese by the age of five while eight per cent were overweight when they entered reception, shooting up to one in five or 19 per cent by the time they reach year six.