Exclusive: Analysis by Royal Society for Public Health suggests obesity rates will rise in 90% of the country
The majority of children will be overweight or obese in nine areas of England by 2035, according to “deeply concerning” projections showing child obesity rates are set to worsen across 90% of the country.
More than a third of primary school children (36%) are already overweight or obese, figures from the government’s national child measurement programme show.
Modelling by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), seen by the Guardian, predicts the proportion of year 6 pupils affected will increase to four in 10 (41%) by 2034-35. In total, rates of overweight or obese children will rise in 136 of 151 local authority areas (90%) in the next decade, the analysis suggests.
And for the first time since records began, rates are projected to top 50% in nine council areas, which means there will be more overweight or obese 10- and 11-year-olds in those areas than not.
