Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Sep 04, 2025

Childhood obesity in England soars during pandemic

Childhood obesity in England soars during pandemic

Experts alarmed as NHS data shows one in four children in England aged 10 and 11 are obese

Thousands of children are facing “serious” and even “devastating” consequences as a result of weight gain during the pandemic, experts warn, as “alarming” figures reveal one in four 10- and 11-year-olds in England are obese.

Health leaders are calling for a “relentless drive” to boost child health as official NHS data lays bare for the first time how child obesity levels have soared during lockdowns.

The National Childhood Measurement Programme, which measures obesity prevalence among school-age pupils in reception class and year 6, found obesity levels rocketed in both year groups by more than 4 percentage points between 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Officials said the “significant” single-year increase in prevalence was the highest rise since the programme began 15 years ago.

The figures show that almost one in seven children are already obese when they begin primary school in England. Among reception-aged children, those aged four and five, the rates of obesity rose from 9.9% in 2019-20 to 14.4% in 2020-21.

By the time they are aged 10 or 11, more than a quarter are obese, according to NHS Digital. In just 12 months, the rate is up from 21% in 2019-20 to 25.5% in 2020-21.


Dr Max Davie, officer for health improvement at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said lockdowns “may have been a key factor” in the rise in obesity rates. “This sharp increase in obesity levels across childhood is alarming,” he said.

Caroline Cerny, from the Obesity Health Alliance, said the figures highlighted “the need for a relentless drive on improving children’s health”.

“There are several aspects of the pandemic that are likely to have contributed to this increase in child obesity levels,” she said. “But it is very clear from data showing increases in sales of confectionery, biscuits and fast food that junk food companies used the opportunity to keep their unhealthy products centre stage in children’s minds. We need to break the junk food cycle to improve children’s health.”

Boys had a higher prevalence of obesity than girls for both age groups, according to the figures. The proportion of children who were a healthy weight dropped between 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Overall, the proportion either overweight or obese was 27.7% in reception and 40.9% in year 6. It means four in 10 children leaving primary school are at increased risk of serious health conditions.

Nikki Joule, the policy manager at Diabetes UK, warned of potentially devastating consequences as a result of weight gain during the pandemic.

“This new data, which shows that two-fifths of children aged 10-11 in England are living with overweight and obesity is hugely concerning, and it underlines why urgent action is needed to improve children’s health,” she said. “Living with obesity significantly increases your risk of type 2 diabetes, a condition which is known to have more severe and acute consequences in children and young people.”

Children living in poorer areas are twice as likely to be obese than those living in wealthier neighbourhoods, the figures also revealed.

In reception-aged children, 20.3% in the most deprived areas are obese compared with 7.8% in the least deprived. In year 6 pupils, the proportion who are obese ranged from 33.8% among those living in the most deprived areas to 14.3% in the least deprived.

“We need an intense focus on closing the gap between the most and least deprived to ensure every single child has an equal chance to grow up healthy,” Cerny said.

The NHS has launched a pilot scheme in which 15 new specialist clinics will care for severely obese children and their families.

“Left unchecked, obesity can have other very serious consequences, ranging from diabetes to cancer,” said Amanda Pritchard, NHS England’s chief executive. The scheme “aims to prevent children and young people enduring a lifetime of ill-health”.

Tam Fry, the chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said the figures would “likely end any hope” that the government would succeed in its mission to halve childhood obesity in England by 2030.

“The figures are staggering and even worse than the forum feared,” he said. “For two years we have had reports of children increasingly being kept at home because of Covid restrictions, endlessly snacking on junk food on top of the amount they regularly eat at meal times, and prevented from being able to play with friends to burn off excess calories.”

Fry said he feared the 15 child obesity clinics were “very sadly likely to be insufficient” in scale to “cope with the numbers who now will need help”.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
×