The Coventry and Warwickshire primary school pupils weighing in at 15 stone

The number of severely obese children in Coventry and Warwickshire continues to grow - with some 10 and 11-year-olds tipping the scales at 15 stone.

There were 367 children in Reception and Year 6 in Coventry and 287 in Warwickshire who were recorded as severely obese when they were measured for the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) in 2017/18.

In Coventry, this was the highest number in a decade - up from 349 in 2016/17, and 204 in 2008/09.

The figures include a boy in Year 6 in Rugby who weighed 15 stones and one pound, and a Year 6 girl in Coventry who weighed 14 stones and seven pounds - a BMI of 37.5.

Across Coventry and Warwickshire, there were also three children who weighed more than 14 stones, and 14 that weighed more than 13 stones.

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In total there were 400 severely obese children in Year 6 (generally aged 10 or 11), and 254 in Reception (aged four or five).

It means as many as one in 18 children in Year 6 and one in 29 Reception-age children in Coventry could be severely obese.

Junk food adverts

In response to the publication of the overall figures, the Obesity Health Alliance, a coalition of over 40 organisations working together to reduce obesity by influencing Government policy, said: “The ever-increasing number of children living with obesity is a clear reflection of the unhealthy wider environment that pushes us towards sugary and fatty food and drinks.

“But we can do something about this.

“We need to start with reducing the number of junk food adverts children see with a 9pm watershed, restrictions on junk food promotions in supermarkets and the food industry stepping up efforts to reduce sugar and fat from everyday foods.

“Every child deserves to grow up healthy and we need strong Government action to make this happen.”

The NCMP programme captures the height and weight of over one million children in Reception and Year 6 in schools across the country each year.

Children are recorded as severely overweight if their BMI is in the top 0.4% for their age and gender.

Childhood obesity across England

Across England, levels of severe obesity in Year 6 children have reached the highest point since records began, according to Public Health England (PHE).

One in 24 (4.2%) children in Year 6 were severely obese in 2017/18, the highest rate since records began in 2006/07.

That was a total of 24,437 children.

The heaviest child included in the data was a boy in Enfield who weighed 16 stones and 11 pounds. He had a BMI of 42.2.

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There were 14,659 children in Reception in 2017/18 who were severely obese, down from 14,787 in 2016/17.

Overall, the proportion of Year 6 pupils who were obese in England increased from 20.0% in 2016/17 to 20.1% in 2017/18.

In Reception, obesity prevalence remained similar at 9.5% in 2017/18.

Change4Life, which helps families and children make healthier choices, has a campaign to encourage people to make healthier, lower sugar swaps to make when shopping, and the Change4Life food scanner app helps parents and children find out how much sugar, salt and saturated fat is in everyday food and drink.

Public Health England, which runs Change4Life, is developing Our Family Health, a digital behaviour change service to support healthier lifestyles in children aged 4-7 years, aimed at families with the most to benefit.

  

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