Nearly a quarter of English children are obese by the end of primary school
Nearly one in four children aged 10 and 11 in England are obese, according to the largest study of its kind – a finding experts say reveals the “profound” and “alarming” long-term effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Obesity rates rose by 45% in four- to five-year-olds and 21% in 10- to 11-year-olds during the first year of lockdowns, the analysis involving more than 1 million children found.
The prevalence of obesity among younger reception-age children has since largely returned to expected – but still worrying – levels, but the proportion of children leaving primary school overweight, obese or severely obese remains much higher than before the pandemic.
Experts said this was likely because younger children were returning to healthier lifestyles, but poor eating habits, insufficient exercise and harmful levels of screen time were embedded in many older children.
NHS England’s national clinical director for children and young people said the figures were alarming and represented a “ticking health time bomb”.
The rise in the number of children becoming overweight and obese during the pandemic means at least 56,000 more children will grow up at increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cancer and other serious diseases, say researchers at the National Institute for Health and Care Research Southampton Biomedical Research Center and the US National Institute for Health and Care Research Southampton Biomedical Research Center. The University of Southampton said this.
Their research, published in the journal PLOS One, also found that the sharp increase would cost the UK more than £8 billion in additional healthcare spending and impact the economy.
Prof. Mark Hanson, emeritus professor of human development and health at Southampton and co-author of the study, said the findings were horrifying. “Nearly one in four children leaving primary school are obese, which is likely to have both an alarming effect on their health and wellbeing and significant costs to society,” he said.
Hanson said the figures warranted immediate action and that new policies should target children under five, as obesity in older children may be “impossible” to escape in some cases. “Once obesity is established, it proves difficult to reverse it. Approximately 60% to 85% of obese children remain obese in adulthood, increasing their risk for future poor health.”
Last month the Guardian revealed that children in England were at increased risk of serious health problems after ministers suspended obesity policies until 2025.
The researchers behind the new study wrote in PLOS One: “During 2020-2021, there were steep increases in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children. By 2022, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children aged four to five years returned to expected levels based on pre-pandemic trends. However, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children aged 10 to 11 years persisted and was four percentage points higher than expected, representing almost 56,000 additional children.
“The additional lifetime healthcare costs in this cohort (both children aged four to five and children aged 10 to 11) will be £800 million, with a cost to society of £8.7 billion.”
NHS figures released in October showed that the proportion of 10 and 11-year-olds who were overweight and obese had fallen slightly, but not back to pre-pandemic levels.
Obesity levels in year six in England (10-11) were 25.5% in 2020-21, 23.4% in 2021-22 and 22.7% in 2022-23, compared to 21% in 2019-20. If we add the figures for obesity and overweight together, 36.6% of children have an unhealthy weight, according to the most current figures.
Professor Simon Kenny, NHS England national clinical director for children and young people, said: “These figures will be as alarming for parents as they are for the NHS. Obesity affects every human organ system and can therefore have a major impact on a child’s life at a young age, increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes, cancer, mental health problems and many other diseases, which can lead to shorter and more unhappy lives.”
The data showed that the prevalence of obesity in shelters rose to 14.4% in 2020-21 and then fell to 10.1% in 2021-22 and 9.2% in 2022-23. This was lower than in 2018-19 and 2019-20 and indicates a trend of decline.
The research shows that boys are more likely to be overweight than girls. Children living in the most deprived areas of England were twice as likely to become obese as children in the most affluent areas.
Professor Keith Godfrey from the Southampton Biomedical Research Center said: “Covid obesity rates have returned to around pre-pandemic levels in reception-age children, but not in older children, and we think this is because the behavior associated with associated with increased rates of childhood obesity – reduced physical activity, poor nutrition, etc. – they become more embedded in older children. Younger children returned to their usual diet and usual level of physical activity.”
He said no single measure could solve childhood obesity but it must become a “national priority”.
The NHS said it is committed to helping young people suffering from weight problems through its new network of 30 specialist clinics, offering tailored packages of physical, psychological and social support.
Kenny added: “But the NHS cannot solve this problem alone, and continued collective action from industry, local and national government and wider society is needed if we are to avoid a ticking health time bomb for the future.”
A government spokesperson said: “We are taking strong action to encourage healthier food choices and tackle obesity across all socio-economic groups and in deprived areas, recognizing that it is the second biggest cause of cancer and costs the NHS approximately £ 6.5 billion per year. years.”