Today, the Government’s National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) for England 2020/21 school year has been published. The NCMP measures the height and weight of over 1 million children aged 4 to 5 and 10 to 11 years old annually in primary schools in England. This report is a useful tool for health professionals and policymakers who are working in the field of obesity, child weight management at local, regional and national level. This year’s NCMP also contains analysis of Body Mass Index (BMI) classification rates by age, sex and ethnicity as well as geographic analyses. 

Click here to access the report 

Key findings:

• In Reception, obesity prevalence has increased from 9.9% in 2019/20 to 14.4% in 2020/21
• In Year 6, average obesity prevalence has increased from 21.0% in 2019/20 to 25.5% in 2020/21
• Boys have a higher obesity prevalence than girls for both age groups
• Children living in the most deprived areas were more than twice as likely to be obese, than those living in the least deprived areas
• In Year 6, 33.8% of Year 6 children living in the most deprived areas were obese compared to 14.3% in the least deprived

Professor Graham MacGregor, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at Queen Mary University of London and Chairman of Action on Sugar says:  

"This terrible but expected news that childhood obesity has increased by around 50% is truly shocking. Once a child becomes obese, it is highly likely that they will be obese for the rest of their lives with all the consequences of premature cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and many cancers. The Government must now act to control the food industry and come forward with coherent plans to prevent and reverse this unfortunate situation."

Katharine Jenner, Campaign Director of Action on Sugar and Salt said:

"With numbers of our youngest children becoming obese up by over a half, and ten out of every class of thirty 10-year-olds in the most deprived areas now living with obesity, this is a wakeup call for government to tackle the food industry head on. No amount of willpower or education could override the food industry’s merciless advertising to families with snacks, confectionary and takeaways during lockdown. We need our food to be healthier, affordable and accessible to all, and for it to be promoted responsibly. The National Food Strategy provided a clear route forward including proposing a landmark sugar and salt reformulation tax, we need the government to make it happen now."

Sheena Bhageerutty, Registered Associate Nutritionist for Action on Salt and Sugar said:

"The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) gives a snapshot of obesity prevalence amongst Reception and Year 6 children in the UK. The data from the NCMP report is also able to highlight the risk of adult obesity and non-communicable diseases which may result in the future. However, the importance of language is vital and should be handled sensitively to avoid stigma leading to discrimination and poorer health outcomes for children. 

The obesity prevalence in Reception children has quickly increased, and the inequalities are widening rather than being ‘levelled up’, demonstrating the need for a multidisciplinary approach to support children and adults living with obesity."