Childhood obesity 'one of the greatest public health challenges'

LocalGov are reporting that local authority leaders are calling on the Government to do more to help councils tackle childhood obesity as the NHS warns of a ‘significant increase’ in obesity rates among primary-aged children.

The National Child Measurement Programme, England – 2020-21 report, published yesterday by NHS Digital, found obesity prevalence among four- and five-year-olds in reception classes rose from 9.9% in 2019-20 to 14.4% in 2020-21.

This increase of around 4.5 percentage points represents the highest annual rise since the National Child Measurement Programme was launched in the 2005-06 academic year.