The epidemic of children affected by obesity evolved unequally over the life of the last government, and that its effects were not felt evenly across the country.
A report out from the think tank IPPR North has found that Children in the most deprived parts of England are two times more likely to have obesity than children in the least deprived areas.
This gap has widened since 2009/2010 – when children in the most deprived areas were 1.7 times more likely to be living with obesity.
England-wide, childhood obesity rates are 9.6 per cent among reception aged children (four and five) and 22.1 per cent for children in Year 6 (aged 10 and 11). Over the past decade, obesity rates have decreased in reception aged children and risen slightly in Year 6 aged children in affluent areas, while deprived areas have shown no real progress in reception and have seen a sharp increase in Year 6 obesity rates- standing at almost 3 in 10 of all children in 2023/24.
But experts at IPPR say that “it doesn’t have to be this way”. If every region matched that of the best performing region in 2023/24, we estimate that there would be 19,500 fewer children across English state schools in year 6 living with obesity and 7,400 fewer children in reception.
Dr Jamie O’Halloran, senior research fellow at IPPR, said:
“Every child deserves to have the best start in life, but too many children growing up today are living with obesity because governments failed to create the conditions for them to live a good, healthy life.
“Children’s health lasts a lifetime. It impacts them, their communities and the country and it holds back our economy too. But poor public health is letting all of us down, and the poorest regions across England are feeling this epidemic the worst.
“The evidence shows that childhood obesity is not the fault of children or their parents. It’s the result of widening inequalities, the scars of austerity and a laissez-faire approach to public health all of which have failed families. It doesn’t have to be this way – the new government can choose a different path”.
