Bradford has the highest rates of childhood obesity in Yorkshire... and also the most underweight children

In Bradford, only 56 per cent of Year 6 pupils were a healthy weight in the 2019/20 school year, with 41 per cent overweight or obese.

The city had the 15th highest rate of childhood obesity in the country, out of more than 150 areas.

As well as being more likely to be overweight or obese, children in Bradford were more likely to be underweight than anywhere else in Yorkshire.

Figures show that Bradford has the fourth highest percentage of underweight Year 6 children in England, at 3 per cent.

Children living in the most deprived areas of England were more than twice as likely to be obese than those living in the least deprived areas, the Government’s National Child Measurement Programme found.

The research for the 2019/20 school year covers 890,608 children in Reception (aged four or five) and Year 6 (aged 10 and 11) in mainstream state-maintained schools.

Findings show that 13.3 per cent of Reception children living in the most deprived areas were obese compared to 6 per cent of those living in the least deprived areas.

The study also showed 27.5 per cent of Year 6 children living in the most deprived areas were obese compared to 11.9 per cent of those living in the least deprived areas.

The report contains analyses of Body Mass Index classification rates by age, sex and ethnicity, as well as geographic analyses.

It found that in Reception, obesity prevalence has increased from 9.7 per cent in 2018-19 to 9.9 per cent in 2019-20, while in Year 6, obesity prevalence has increased from 20.2 per cent in 2018-19 to 21.0 per cent in 2019-20.

Yorkshire fell in line with the rest of England, with 63 per cent of children at a healthy weight and 36 per cent overweight or obese, compared with the national average of 35 per cent.

Children in North Yorkshire were the most likely in the region to have a healthy weight, with two-thirds of Year 6 children on target.

Boys have a significantly higher obesity prevalence than girls for both age groups.

In Reception, 10.1 per cent of boys were obese compared to 9.7 per cent of girls and in Year 6, 23.6 per cent of boys were obese, compared to 18.4 per cent of girls.

The number of children measured as part of the programme was 26 per cent lower than the 1,198,261 children who were measured in 2018/19.

Sidonie Sakula-Barry, the World Cancer Research Fund’s health-promotion manager, said: “Every year this data on children’s weight is released and every year childhood overweight and obesity has increased.

“This trend will not change unless our commitment to ending child obesity is driven by action from the Government, food industry and the public to make healthier food affordable and accessible to all. It’s not a coincidence that obesity rates are twice as high in the most deprived areas compared to the least deprived.

“Until we do that, obesity will remain high, increasing our children’s risk of cancer in adulthood and obesity prevalence will remain highest among children living in the most deprived areas.”

Many councils in the region have programmes to tackle obesity. In Bradford, the council has provided training for school cooks to provide healthier meals on school premises alongside other measures.