New map shows London boroughs with worst childhood obesity rates as 1 in 4 obese
The government has announced plans to tackle childhood obesity with a pre-watershed ban on junk food advertising, as figures reveal that over one in four 10-and-11 year olds in London are obese. The ban will see ads for food items such as crisps, fizzy drinks, sugary cereals and surprisingly, porridge, banned from screens until after 9pm.
The government believes the ban will prevent an estimated 20,000 cases of childhood obesity across the UK. In England, more than a fifth (22.1 per cent) of Year 6 children - those aged 10 and 11 years old - were obese in the 2023/24 academic year. This is an increase from 18.7 per cent in 2009/10.
London has higher rates of childhood obesity than the country as a whole. Almost a quarter (24.0 per cent) of 10 and 11 year olds attending school in the capital were obese in the 2023/24 academic year. Reception aged children in London - four and five year olds - had an obesity rate of 9.8 per cent, compared to a national average of 9.6 per cent.
The prevalence of childhood obesity varies depending on the areas where children attend school. Year 6 pupils in Barking and Dagenham had one of the highest obesity rates in the country - three out of every 10 (29.5 per cent) children there were obese. Only three other council areas in the country had higher rates of obesity.
Newham wasn’t far behind with an obesity prevalence of 28.3 per cent. That’s followed by Enfield with 27.6 per cent, Greenwich with 27.3 per cent and Southwark with 27.3 per cent.
Childhood obesity (10 and 11-year-olds) by borough
- Barking and Dagenham: 29.5%
- Newham: 28.3%
- Enfield: 27.6%
- Greenwich: 27.3%
- Southwark: 27.3%
- Lambeth: 27.1%
- Tower Hamlets: 27%
- Hackney: 26.4%
- Brent: 25.4%
- Croydon: 25.3%
- Hounslow: 25.1%
- Waltham Forest: 25%
- Lewisham: 24.6%
- Haringey: 24.6%
- Redbridge: 24.6%
- Hillingdon: 24.4%
- Havering: 24.3%
- London: 24.0%
- Westminster: 23.9%
- Ealing: 23.7%
- Harrow: 23.5%
- Islington: 22.9%
- Camden: 22.9%
- Bexley: 22.8%
- Hammersmith and Fulham: 22.8%
- Kensington and Chelsea: 21.3%
- Barnet: 20.9%
- Wandsworth: 20.4%
- Merton: 19.1%
- Sutton: 18.7%
- Bromley: 17.4%
- Kingston upon Thames: 15.3%
- Richmond upon Thames: 13.8%
Announcing the ban, Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said: "Obesity robs our kids of the best possible start in life, sets them up for a lifetime of health problems, and costs the NHS billions. This government is taking action now to end the targeting of junk food ads at kids, across both TV and online. Obesity robs our kids of the best possible start in life, sets them up for a lifetime of health problems, and costs the NHS billions."
He continued: "This is the first step to deliver a major shift in the focus of healthcare from sickness to prevention, and towards meeting our government’s ambition to give every child a healthy, happy start to life."
Sandwell in the West Midlands (the home of the football club West Bromwich Albion) had the highest rates of obesity amongst 10-and-11 year olds in the country. Some 31.0 per cent of Year 6 pupils attending school in Sandwell were obese.
In Knowsley, Merseyside, 30.7 per cent of 10-and-11 year olds were obese. Wolverhampton has the next highest levels of obesity (30.2 per cent), followed by Barking and Dagenham (29.5 per cent) and Nottingham (28.4 per cent). Hartlepool and Middlesbrough have the joint highest levels of obesity amongst Reception-aged children.
Some 14.1 per cent of four-and-five year olds in the two towns were obese in 2023/24. That rises to 24.7 per cent for Middlesbrough when including overweight children and 22.1 per cent for Hartlepool. In Sandwell 13.5 per cent of Reception children were obese, in Blackpool it was 13.4 per cent, and in Knowsley it was also 13.4 per cent.
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