Childhood Obesity
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Overview
This page aims to provide resources and information to those working on monitoring childhood obesity throughout the South East, and to share knowledge and good practice.
The National Obesity Observatory provides a single point of contact for wide-ranging authoritative information on data, evidence and practice related to obesity, overweight, underweight and their determinants - www.noo.org.uk
Obesity is one of the biggest public health issues facing England. The National Audit Office clearly highlighted the damaging impact obesity has on health and life expectancy as well as the huge financial costs for the NHS and the community as a whole.
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The prevalence of obesity among children in England aged 2 to 10 years, rose, between 1995 and 2007 from 9.7% to 16.5% in boys and 10.6% to 14.6% in girls. In children aged 2-15, the increase in obesity prevalence rose over same time period, from 11.1% to 17.1% in boys and 12.2 to 16.4% in girls (Health Survey for England).
Data for the South East show obesity prevalence for children aged 2 to 15 years at 16% for boys and 14% for girls during 2005-2007 (IC Report, 2009).
The Government has responded to this issue by developing a PSA target to “halt the year on year rise in obesity among children aged under 11 by 2010 in the context of a broader strategy to tackle obesity in the population as a whole”. PCTs, for the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP), annually measure:
- Primary school children in the Reception year (ages 4-5 years).
- Primary school children in Year 6 (ages 10-11 years).
A report on the 2007/08 NCMP data for the South East can be downloaded using the link below. For resources on obesity and overweight in general, please visit our Obesity & Overweight topic page.
Key resources
Lifestyle and behaviours - Childhood obesity - Regional key resources
Lifestyle and behaviours - Childhood obesity - National key resources
Lifestyle and behaviours - Childhood obesity - Key organisations
Last review Oct 2009.