{"id":557845,"date":"2025-11-08T19:18:31","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T19:18:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/557845\/"},"modified":"2025-11-08T19:18:31","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T19:18:31","slug":"one-in-10-london-children-in-first-year-of-primary-school-is-obese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/557845\/","title":{"rendered":"One in 10 London children in first year of primary school is obese"},"content":{"rendered":"

23.2% of the region\u2019s youngsters in Year 6, the last year of primary school, were obese in 2024-25 reports Sonja Tutty, Data Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"AAcross England, 10.5% of children in Reception and 22.2% in Year 6 were obese in 2024-25 \u2013 (Credit \u2013 Radar)<\/p>\n

One in 10\u00a0London\u00a0children in the first year of primary school was obese last year, new figures show.<\/p>\n

The Obesity Health Alliance, a coalition of health organisations, said the data is at odds with the government\u2019s target of creating the \u201chealthiest generation of children ever\u201d.<\/p>\n

The recent National Child Measurement Programme<\/a> shows some 81,460 reception children in London were measured in 2024-25, with about 7,950 (9.8%) found to be obese.<\/p>\n

It was in line with the year before.<\/p>\n

The report also found 23.2% of the region\u2019s youngsters in Year 6, the last year of primary school, were obese in 2024-25. It was down from 24% the year before.<\/p>\n

Across England<\/a>,\u00a010.5% of children in Reception and 22.2% in Year 6 were obese in 2024-25.<\/p>\n

Excluding the peak during the first year of the pandemic, the rate of obesity in Reception year was the highest since records began in 2006-07.<\/p>\n

Experts said further years of data are needed to determine whether this is the start of a long-term increase in obesity in Reception year.<\/p>\n

Professor Simon Kenny, NHS national clinical director for children and young people, said: \u201cThese figures are extremely concerning \u2013 obesity can have a devastating impact on children\u2019s health, increasing their risk of Type 2 diabetes, cancer, mental health issues, and many other illnesses, which can sadly lead to shorter and unhappier lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NHS is transforming the lives of thousands of children and families impacted by severe weight issues through its specialist clinics, supporting them to lose weight, live heathier lives and improve their mental health through a personalised package of support.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut prevention is key, and continued joined-up action by industry and wider society is essential if we want to improve the health of our younger generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report also found children from black ethnic groups are more likely to be living with obesity, and children in the most deprived areas are over twice as likely to be obese than kids in the least deprived areas.<\/p>\n

Katharine Jenner, executive director of the Obesity Health Alliance, said the data was a \u201cstark reminder that poor child health remains a serious issue across England\u201d.<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cEvery child deserves the chance to grow up healthy, regardless of their background.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe findings suggest that the recent small reductions in obesity among reception-age children were short-lived, with this year\u2019s figures showing one of the highest obesity rates recorded since the programme began.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese concerning trends are at odds with the government\u2019s ambition to create the healthiest generation of children ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting said: \u201cThis government will not look away as kids get unhealthier and critics urge us to leave them behind.<\/p>\n

\u201cObesity robs children of the best possible start in life, sets them up for a lifetime of health problems, and costs the NHS billions.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added the government is making healthy choices the \u201ceasy choices\u201d and supporting families.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is prevention, not punishment, and will help families and children across the country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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More Information about donations<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"23.2% of the region\u2019s youngsters in Year 6, the last year of primary school, were obese in 2024-25…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":557846,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,389,393,4884,105,257,445,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-557845","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-children","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-london","14":"tag-obesity","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115515694367767675","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=557845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557845\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/557846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=557845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=557845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=557845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}