Today’s news on childhood obesity rates in the UK shows some positive downward trends, but swift and drastic action is still needed to reduce the number of children living with obesity in the UK. is.

The new figures show the number of children living with obesity has fallen by 9.2% for intake-age children and 22.7% for Year 6 children.

However, childhood obesity rates remain high, with numbers for sixth graders still higher than pre-pandemic numbers. There are also deep and persistent inequalities, with rates in the most disadvantaged regions being twice as high as in the least advantaged.

Research shows that obese children are more likely to remain obese as adults, which is a risk factor for heart and circulatory diseases such as heart attacks and strokes.

The new figures were published in NHS England’s National Child Measurement Programme, an annual report that analyzes the body mass index (BMI) of children aged four to five and 10 to 11.

the heart needs more protection

We are calling on governments to do more to halve childhood obesity and extend healthy lifespans for everyone by 2030. This cannot be achieved without making our daily diet healthier.

We have called for the delayed entry into force of the Junk Food Marketing Regulations, which ban junk food multi-purchase transactions and introduce a 9pm watershed for television advertising of unhealthy foods.

We’ve also joined Recipe for Change, a major new campaign calling on the UK Government to introduce an industry-wide tax on salt and sugar to make food healthier.

By implementing preventive policies such as banning the sale of junk food, governments can make meaningful progress in reducing childhood obesity rates and the deep inequalities that exist. This will improve the health of future generations and reduce pressure on our health services in the long term.

John Maingay, our Director of Policy and Communications, said: “Today’s figures show that despite some improvement, childhood obesity rates remain too high. Every child has the right to grow up in the best health possible, but children in the poorest areas Children are twice as likely to live with obesity. Children who live with obesity are much more likely to live with obesity as adults, and this is due to heart and circulatory diseases. This means that you are at higher risk of developing .

“Governments need to act quickly and implement long-delayed plans to restrict the sale of junk food to children, and encourage businesses to produce healthier food.”

Read about the campaign