More than a quarter of Year 6 children living in the most deprived areas were obese compared to 11.9% of those living in the least deprived areas.

Childhood obesity rates in the UK continue to rise according to latest figures which lay bare the growing divide between rich and poor areas.

More than a quarter (27.5 per cent) of Year 6 children, aged 10-11, living in the most deprived areas were obese compared to 11.9 per cent of those living in the least deprived areas. Some 13.3 per cent of Reception children, aged 4-5, living in the most deprived areas were obese compared to 6 per cent of those living in the least deprived areas, the Government’s National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) for the 2019/20 school year found.

The report contains analyses of Body Mass Index (BMI) classification rates by age, sex and ethnicity as well as geographic analyses. It found that in Reception, obesity prevalence has increased from 9.7 per cent in 2018-19 to 9.9 per cent in 2019-20, while in Year 6 obesity prevalence has increased from 20.2 per cent in 2018-19 to 21 per cent in 2019-20. Boys have a higher obesity prevalence than girls for both age groups. In Reception, 10.1 per cent of boys were obese compared to 9.7 per cent of girls, and in Year 6, 23.6 per cent of boys were obese compared to 18.4 per cent of girls.

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