HALF of children are now overweight in some areas of the UK – is YOUR area one of the hotspots? Check out our interactive map to find out

England’s childhood obesity crisis is laid bare today in a sobering interactive map showing areas where children are overweight by the time they reach secondary school.

Shocking figures reveal that 47 per cent of sixth form pupils in Knowsley, Merseyside, are overweight or obese.

For comparison, this is almost twice as many as the values ​​measured in green areas such as Surrey and Richmond-upon-Thames.according to the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities.

Experts have called this significant variation between parts of England a ‘postcode lottery’, The government was forced to admit that Britain was facing a ‘childhood obesity crisis’.

Nationally, the percentage is still over a third (36.6 percent), despite having fallen slightly since the start of Covid.

However, according to official figures, this is an increase of three percent compared to 2015.

Each year, the height and weight of more than a million children are measured through the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP).

Among sixth-grade students, the national obesity rate fell from 23.4 percent in 2021/22 to 22.7 percent.

Meanwhile, the percentage of young people considered overweight or obese also fell from 37.8 percent to 36.6 percent, both figures above pre-pandemic levels.

But when local authorities analysed the data and the Liberal Democrats consulted the House of Commons Library, it found that 47.2 per cent of sixth form pupils in Knowsley were overweight or obese.

This was followed by the London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham and Newham with percentages of 45.7 and 45.5 percent respectively.

Barking and Dagenham also topped the list for obesity, with almost a third (31.7 per cent) of children aged 10 to 11 classified as obese.

Outside London, the percentage of overweight and obese people was 45.2 per cent in Sandwell and 44.8 per cent in Wolverhampton.

In Surrey, on the other hand, obesity and overweight rates were 24.9 percent, compared to 25.1 percent in the US. Richmond-upon-Thames.

Cambridge recorded the biggest increase in overweight children since 2015, with the percentage of sixth-form children considered overweight rising by almost 68 per cent.

Areas in Nottinghamshire have also reported significant increases in childhood obesity over the past nine years, including Rushcliffe (67 per cent increase), Mansfield (65 per cent increase) and Bassetlaw (57 per cent increase).

Dr Adam Briggs, senior policy officer at the Health Foundation, said The Times: ‘To tackle childhood obesity, we need to take much tougher action on the marketing and sale of unhealthy foods.

Our latest poll with Ipsos also shows broad public support for taxes on unhealthy foods, with the proceeds used to fund healthy diets for low-income families.

‘If we do not invest in essential preventive services, health will deteriorate and health inequalities will increase. This will be felt throughout society and the economy.’

Childhood obesity has been a growing problem for years, with easy access to fast food, increased screen time and sedentary lifestyles being blamed for the rising rates in some parts of the UK.

The NCMP, responsible for the current data, was set up in 2006 in state-funded schools in England and was seen as a key part of the then government’s fight against childhood obesity.

The NCMP measures the height and weight of children. This data is then used to generate a Body Mass Index.

This score is compared to a national scale to determine whether a child is underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese.

But last year, researchers from Queen Mary University of London warned that the program could do more harm than good and potentially promote eating disorders in children.

Parents of slim children even complain that their children are wrongly labeled as “fat.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson responded to the figures today, saying: ‘We are facing a child obesity crisis, which is causing children to lead unhealthy lives and increasing pressure on the NHS.

This government is going to tackle it head on.

‘We have tasked Lord Darzi to improve the health care status of the country.

‘His findings form the basis of our ten-year plan to radically reform the NHS and build a healthcare system that is fit for the future and can tackle the obesity crisis head-on.

‘We will shift our focus from treatment to prevention to ease the pressure on the NHS and help people live better for longer.’

Labour ministers have pledged to introduce tough restrictions on junk food advertising and a ban on children buying sugary energy drinks.

This is because the World Health Organization also indicated last year that 37 million children under the age of five are now overweight worldwide. That is four million more than at the beginning of the century.

Australia ranks second out of 198 countries, with 21.8 percent of children considered overweight.

Britain ranked 22nd (11.3 percent), while the US came in 52nd (7.9 percent).

The WHO warns that global obesity is ‘heading in the wrong direction’ and that there are ‘no immediate signs of recovery’.

Obesity not only increases the waistline, it also increases healthcare costs. The NHS spends an estimated £6.1 billion a year treating weight-related illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.