Surge in kids starting primary school obese could have ‘devastating impact’

National Child Measurement Programme reveals ‘extremely concerning’ rise which means one in four children start school overweight or obese

More than one in ten children are now starting primary school already obese.

Apart from the peak during the first year of the pandemic this is the highest obesity rate since records began. Data from the National Child Measurement Programme showed 13% of children in Reception, when youngsters are aged four and five, are also overweight, meaning almost one in four kids in this age group are overweight or obese.

NHS England branded the figures “extremely concerning” and warned of a “devastating impact on children’s health”. Some 1.1 million children were measured at state-maintained schools as part of the data collection.

Professor Simon Kenny, NHS En