Over a third of children leaving primary school are obese or overweight

Over a third of children leaving primary school are obese or overweight

Over a third of children leaving primary school in the Rochdale borough are classed as overweight or obese.

Figures have revealed that 36.8 per cent of year six children in the borough are overweight or obese. To compare, the England 2011 national average for overweight and obesity is 33.4 per cent of year six children, aged 10 to 11 years old.

The figures show that 20.7 per cent of year 6 aged children are classed as obese and 16.1 per cent are considered overweight.

The data compiled by the National Child Measurement Programme shows that 62 per cent of year six aged children are healthy and 1.2 per cent are underweight.

The stats also reveal that 11.4 per cent of reception aged children are classed as obese, whilst 12.7 per cent are classed as overweight.

74.7 per cent are classed as healthy and 1.2 per cent are classed as underweight.

NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale say they are aware of the number of children who are overweight and obese in the borough, which affects young children and older children. And they say that they are working with many agencies across the to address this and to provide a wide range of initiatives and support for the children and their families.

Wendy Meston, Deputy Director of Public Health advises “We want to work more with local families to tackle this major problem which exists for many children and adults.

“Our aim is to focus on strategies that promote behaviour change and improve healthy choices by involving the children themselves, their parents and other family members and the communities in which they live”.

NHS HMR local programmes provide support for all ages in many different formats so that they are accessible and appealing to a range of children.

Key programmes include Pennine Action for Nursery Kids, Diet and Activity (PANDA) for families with children 2-5 years, Active Lifestyles Advisor who provides physical activity sessions (group and one-to-one) across the borough for children aged 2-11 years, SHOKK youth Gym with an interactive focus on dance and fun for children and young people aged 8-15 years, Healthy Schools programme, Healthy Weight Team for children and adults and Community Health and Wellbeing programme for children and families.