Obesity levels drop in Year 6 pupils but still not back to pre-pandemic levels

More than one in three children in England are above a healthy weight when obesity and overweight NHS figures are taken together.

Obesity levels have fallen in Year 6 pupils but remain higher than they were in 2019/20 (Chris Radburn/PA) (PA Wire)

The proportion of 10 and 11-year-olds who are overweight and obese has dropped, but is still not as low as before the pandemic, NHS data shows.

Obesity levels in Year 6 in England fell from 23.4% of pupils in 2021/22 to 22.7% in 2022/23, but are still higher than the 2019/20 pre-pandemic level of 21%.

When obesity and overweight figures are taken together, 36.6% of children (more than one in three) are above a healthy weight. This figure is also higher than the 35.1% in 2019/20.

The new data also showed that the prevalence of obesity in Reception-aged children (ages four and five) fell from from 10.1% in 2021/22 to 9.2% in 2022/23.

This is lower than in 2018/19 and 2019/20, and shows a continued decline.

Looking at the overall data and splitting it by gender, boys are more likely to be overweight than girls.

For boys in Reception, obesity prevalence was 9.3%, compared with 9% of girls.

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For boys in Year 6, it was 25.1%, compared with 20.1% of girls.

Meanwhile, children living in the most deprived areas of England are twice as likely to be obese as those in the most affluent regions.

Obesity levels were 12.4% for Reception children in the most deprived areas, compared with 5.8% of those living in the least deprived.

For children in Year 6, levels were 30.2% in the most deprived, compared with 13.1% in the least deprived.

The proportion of children in Year 6 living with obesity was highest in the North East (25.8%), the West Midlands (25.2%) and London (24.8%).

It was lowest in the South West and the South East (both 19.4%).

The National Child Measurement Programme data further showed that the proportion of children in Year 6 who are underweight has increased slightly, from 1.5% in 2021/22 to 1.6% in 2022/23, and is the highest recorded rate since 2009/10.