Post 63. Obesity levels in England
What are the obesity statistics for England?
UK Parliament has released a report on UK obesity statistics. Obesity is usually defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above. BMI between 25 and 30 is classified as ‘overweight’.
The Health Survey for England 2019 states that 28% of adults in England are obese and a further 36% are overweight. The survey found that men are more likely than women to be overweight or obese (68.2% of men, 60.4% of women). People aged 45-74 are most likely to be overweight or obese.
Data for childhood obesity 2020/21 shows in England that 14.4% of reception age children (age 4-5) are obese (9.9% in 2020/21), with a further 13.3% being overweight.
At age 10-11 (year 6), 25.5% are estimated as obese (21% in 2020/21) and 15.4% overweight with boys being slightly more likely than girls to be obese.
The report states:
"Children living in deprived areas are substantially more likely to be obese. Among reception (age 4-5) children in 2020/21, 9.1% of those in the least deprived areas are obese compared with 19.7% of those in the most deprived areas. In Year 6 (age 10-11), 15.5% of children in the least deprived areas are obese, compared with 32.1% in the most deprived areas. So in both age groups, children in the most deprived areas are approximately twice as likely to be obese. Rates of severely obese children are around four times higher in the most deprived areas."
There are sixteen areas with over 41% overweight and obesity prevalence in Year 6 including: Bradford, Liverpool, London, Luton, Manchester, Nottingham, Wolverhampton. This is really concerning.
What was the impact of Covid-19 lockdowns on obesity rates? What is the impact of deprivation on obesity rates? How can this be reversed?
Well, data in 2021/22 shows obesity prevalence among four and five-year-olds decreased from 14.4% in 2020/21 to 10.4% in 2021/22 and obesity in year six children fell from 25.5% in 2020/21 to 23.5% in 2021/22.
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