This statistic displays the prevalence of childhood obesity* in the United Kingdom (UK) from 1975 to 2016, by gender. At the beginning of this time series, female children in the UK were more likely to be obese than males. This changed in 1995, when the obesity rates for both male and female children in the UK equaled eight percent. As of 2016, 12.7 percent of male children are considered obese, compared to 10.2 percent of female children. It is also notable that the obesity rate in female children has declined from a high point of 10.4 percent in 2010.

This report presents information on obesity, physical activity and diet drawn together from a variety of sources for England. More information can be found in the source publications which contain a wider range of data and analysis. Each section provides an overview of key findings, as well as providing links to relevant documents and sources. Some of the data have been published previously by NHS Digital. A data visualisation tool (link provided within the key facts) allows users to select obesity related hospital admissions data for any Local Authority (as contained in the data tables), along with time series data from 2013/14. Regional and national comparisons are also provided. The report includes information on: Obesity related hospital admissions, including obesity related bariatric surgery. Obesity prevalence. Physical activity levels. Walking and cycling rates. Prescriptions items for the treatment of obesity. Perception of weight and weight management. Food and drink purchases and expenditure. Fruit and vegetable consumption. Key facts cover the latest year of data available: Hospital admissions: 2018/19 Adult obesity: 2018 Childhood obesity: 2018/19 Adult physical activity: 12 months to November 2019 Children and young people's physical activity: 2018/19 academic year

This statistic displays the share of children in England aged ***** years who were classed as overweight or obese from 2007/08 to 2023/24. In 2023/24, **** percent of children aged ***** years in England were classed as overweight or obese.

Proportion of children aged 4 to 5 years classified as living with obesity. For population monitoring purposes, a child’s body mass index (BMI) is classed as overweight or obese where it is on or above the 85th centile or 95th centile, respectively, based on the British 1990 (UK90) growth reference data. The population monitoring cut offs for overweight and obesity are lower than the clinical cut offs (91st and 98th centiles for overweight and obesity) used to assess individual children; this is to capture children in the population in the clinical overweight or obesity BMI categories and those who are at high risk of moving into the clinical overweight or clinical obesity categories. This helps ensure that adequate services are planned and delivered for the whole population.

Rationale There is concern about the rise of childhood obesity and the implications of obesity persisting into adulthood. The risk of obesity in adulthood and risk of future obesity-related ill health are greater as children get older. Studies tracking child obesity into adulthood have found that the probability of children who are overweight or living with obesity becoming overweight or obese adults increases with age[1,2,3]. The health consequences of childhood obesity include: increased blood lipids, glucose intolerance, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, increases in liver enzymes associated with fatty liver, exacerbation of conditions such as asthma and psychological problems such as social isolation, low self-esteem, teasing and bullying.

It is important to look at the prevalence of weight status across all weight/BMI categories to understand the whole picture and the movement of the population between categories over time.

The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence have produced guidelines to tackle obesity in adults and children - http://guidance.nice.org.uk/CG43.

1 Guo SS, Chumlea WC. Tracking of body mass index in children in relation to overweight in adulthood. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1999;70(suppl): 145S-8S.

2 Serdula MK, Ivery D, Coates RJ, Freedman DS, Williamson DF, Byers T. Do obese children become obese adults? A review of the literature. Preventative Medicine 1993;22:167-77.

3 Starc G, Strel J. Tracking excess weight and obesity from childhood to young adulthood: a 12-year prospective cohort study in Slovenia. Public Health Nutrition 2011;14:49-55.

Definition of numerator Number of children in reception (aged 4 to 5 years) with a valid height and weight measured by the NCMP with a BMI classified as living with obesity or severe obesity (BMI on or above 95th centile of the UK90 growth reference).

Definition of denominator Number of children in reception (aged 4 to 5 years) with a valid height and weight measured by the NCMP.

Caveats Data for local authorities may not match that published by NHS England which are based on the local authority of the school attended by the child or based on the local authority that submitted the data. There is a strong correlation between deprivation and child obesity prevalence and users of these data may wish to examine the pattern in their local area. Users may wish to produce thematic maps and charts showing local child obesity prevalence. When presenting data in charts or maps it is important, where possible, to consider the confidence intervals (CIs) around the figures. This analysis supersedes previously published data for small area geographies and historically published data should not be compared to the latest publication. Estimated data published in this fingertips tool is not comparable with previously published data due to changes in methods over the different years of production. These methods changes include; moving from estimated numbers at ward level to actual numbers; revision of geographical boundaries (including ward boundary changes and conversion from 2001 MSOA boundaries to 2011 boundaries); disclosure control methodology changes. The most recently published data applies the same methods across all years of data. There is the potential for error in the collection, collation and interpretation of the data (bias may be introduced due to poor response rates and selective opt out of children with a high BMI for age/sex which it is not possible to control for). There is not a good measure of response bias and the degree of selective opt out, but participation rates (the proportion of eligible school children who were measured) may provide a reasonable proxy; the higher the participation rate, the less chance there is for selective opt out, though this is not a perfect method of assessment. Participation rates for each local authority are available in the https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/national-child-measurement-programme/data#page/4/gid/8000022/ of this profile.

In 2019, 27 percent of boys and 20 percent of girls aged between 11 and 15 years in England were classed as obese. Additionally, in the age group two to ten years old, 15 percent of boys and eight percent of girls were obese. Prevalence among adults The prevalence of obesity among adults in England has been creeping upwards since 2000. In that year, 21 percent of men and women were classed as obese in England. However, by 2021 this share had increased to 26 percent for women and 25 percent for men. Obesity heavy on the health service The number of hospital admissions as a result of obesity in England has increased alongside the general increase in obesity. In the year 2019/20, almost 8.1 thousand women and 2.7 thousand men were admitted to hospital. A vast rise from the admission levels in 2002/03. The highest number of admissions due to obesity were found in the age group 45 to 54 years, with over 3.1 thousand admissions in that age group.

The NCMP and Child Obesity Profile displays prevalence of obesity, severe obesity, overweight, healthy weight and underweight at local authority (LA), regional and national level over time; for children in Reception (aged 4 to 5 years) and Year 6 (aged 10 to 11 years). The tool also presents inequalities in obesity prevalence by sex, deprivation quintile and ethnic group by LA. The profile also includes child obesity slope index of inequality (SII) for each of the 9 English regions and England.

The NCMP small area data domain displays trend data on the prevalence of excess weight (overweight including obesity) and obesity for Middle Super Output Areas (MSOAs), Electoral Wards, Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG), local authorities, and England.

This statistic displays the share of obese and overweight children using body mass index assessed against growth curve in Northern Ireland from 2010/11 to 2019/20, by age. In 2019/2020, approximately ** percent of the children between the age of *** and *** were classed as obese or overweight.

Update of annual statistics on high and low body mass index (BMI) for Primary 1 school children in ten participating NHS Boards in Scotland. From December 2010 onwards this publication will be released under the title "Primary 1 Body Mass Index (BMI) Statistics". Source agency: ISD Scotland (part of NHS National Services Scotland) Designation: National Statistics Language: English Alternative title: Childhood obesity

Prevalence of underweight, healthy weight, overweight and obese children. The data covers children in Reception year (aged 4-5) and Year 6 (aged 10-11) There is the potential for error in the collection, collation and interpretation of the data (bias may be introduced due to poor response rates and selective opt out of larger children which it is not possible to control for). The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) does not include children in the Independent sector, therefore, coverage of school children aged 4-5 is not complete. Data from The Health and Social Care Information Centre, Lifestyle Statistics / Department of Health Cross-Government Obesity Unit NCMP Dataset. 95% confidence intervals should be taken into account when making direct comparisons of two different prevalence figures. Where confidence intervals overlap, it is not possible to say that a difference is statistically significant. Local Authority mapping in this data has been based on school location. Since 2010/11 data by location of pupil residence is also available from the Information Centre website. Note in since the publication of the 2011/12 to 2013/14 dataset, the boundaries used at the new 2014 ward boundaries and the 2011 Middle Super Output Area (MSOA) boundaries. Before this it was pre-2014 ward boundaries and 2001 MSOA boundaries. Ward and MSOA level data can be downloaded from the National Obesity Observatory website and is also shown in the GLA ward profiles. Relevant links: http://www.hscic.gov.uk/ncmp http://www.hscic.gov.uk/searchcatalogue?productid=13778&topics=1%2fPublic+health%2fLifestyle&pubdate=DEC%2c2013&sort=Relevance&s

Proportion of children aged 10 to 11 years classified as living with obesity. For population monitoring purposes, a child’s body mass index (BMI) is classed as overweight or obese where it is on or above the 85th centile or 95th centile, respectively, based on the British 1990 (UK90) growth reference data. The population monitoring cut offs for overweight and obesity are lower than the clinical cut offs (91st and 98th centiles for overweight and obesity) used to assess individual children; this is to capture children in the population in the clinical overweight or obesity BMI categories and those who are at high risk of moving into the clinical overweight or clinical obesity categories. This helps ensure that adequate services are planned and delivered for the whole population.

Rationale There is concern about the rise of childhood obesity and the implications of obesity persisting into adulthood. The risk of obesity in adulthood and risk of future obesity-related ill health are greater as children get older. Studies tracking child obesity into adulthood have found that the probability of children who are overweight or living with obesity becoming overweight or obese adults increases with age[1,2,3]. The health consequences of childhood obesity include: increased blood lipids, glucose intolerance, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, increases in liver enzymes associated with fatty liver, exacerbation of conditions such as asthma and psychological problems such as social isolation, low self-esteem, teasing and bullying.

It is important to look at the prevalence of weight status across all weight/BMI categories to understand the whole picture and the movement of the population between categories over time.

The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence have produced guidelines to tackle obesity in adults and children - http://guidance.nice.org.uk/CG43.

1 Guo SS, Chumlea WC. Tracking of body mass index in children in relation to overweight in adulthood. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1999;70(suppl): 145S-8S.

2 Serdula MK, Ivery D, Coates RJ, Freedman DS, Williamson DF, Byers T. Do obese children become obese adults? A review of the literature. Preventative Medicine 1993;22:167-77.

3 Starc G, Strel J. Tracking excess weight and obesity from childhood to young adulthood: a 12-year prospective cohort study in Slovenia. Public Health Nutrition 2011;14:49-55.

Definition of numerator Number of children in year 6 (aged 10 to 11 years) with a valid height and weight measured by the NCMP with a BMI classified as living with obesity or severe obesity (BMI on or above 95th centile of the UK90 growth reference).

Definition of denominator Number of children in year 6 (aged 10 to 11 years) with a valid height and weight measured by the NCMP.

Caveats Data for local authorities may not match that published by NHS England which are based on the local authority of the school attended by the child or based on the local authority that submitted the data. There is a strong correlation between deprivation and child obesity prevalence and users of these data may wish to examine the pattern in their local area. Users may wish to produce thematic maps and charts showing local child obesity prevalence. When presenting data in charts or maps it is important, where possible, to consider the confidence intervals (CIs) around the figures. This analysis supersedes previously published data for small area geographies and historically published data should not be compared to the latest publication. Estimated data published in this fingertips tool is not comparable with previously published data due to changes in methods over the different years of production. These methods changes include; moving from estimated numbers at ward level to actual numbers; revision of geographical boundaries (including ward boundary changes and conversion from 2001 MSOA boundaries to 2011 boundaries); disclosure control methodology changes. The most recently published data applies the same methods across all years of data. There is the potential for error in the collection, collation and interpretation of the data (bias may be introduced due to poor response rates and selective opt out of children with a high BMI for age/sex which it is not possible to control for). There is not a good measure of response bias and the degree of selective opt out, but participation rates (the proportion of eligible school children who were measured) may provide a reasonable proxy; the higher the participation rate, the less chance there is for selective opt out, though this is not a perfect method of assessment. Participation rates for each local authority are available in the https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/national-child-measurement-programme/data#page/4/gid/8000022/ of this profile.

This statistical report presents a range of information on obesity, physical activity and diet, drawn together from a variety of sources. The topics covered include: Overweight and obesity prevalence among adults and children Physical activity levels among adults and children Trends in purchases and consumption of food and drink and energy intake Health outcomes of being overweight or obese. This report contains seven chapters which consist of the following: Chapter 1: Introduction; this summarises government policies, targets and outcome indicators in this area, as well as providing sources of further information and links to relevant documents. Chapters 2 to 6 cover obesity, physical activity and diet and provides an overview of the key findings from these sources, whilst maintaining useful links to each section of these reports. Chapter 7: Health Outcomes; presents a range of information about the health outcomes of being obese or overweight which includes information on health risks, hospital admissions and prescription drugs used for treatment of obesity. Figures presented in this report have been obtained from a number of sources and presented in a user-friendly format. Some of the data contained in the chapter have been published previously by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC). Previously unpublished figures on obesity-related Finished Hospital Episodes and Finished Consultant Episodes for 2012-13 are presented using data from the HSCIC's Hospital Episode Statistics as well as data from the Prescribing Unit at the HSCIC on prescription items dispensed for treatment of obesity.

Note: This dataset has been archived as of January 2024, as will not be made available to the public. Information that the data is ward-level aggregated which is volatile and easy to misinterpret the data and the level datasets are misleading if published. Child Obesity and Excess Weight data from the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP, published by Public Health England). NCMP data is an annual survey of children attending state schools, which is the denominator for percentages. Figures are based on child residence postcode. Data is shown for Lincolnshire and Districts, Wards, and NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). The data shows children at risk of obesity and excess weight (which includes overweight and obesity). It uses population monitoring criteria, not clinical assessments which might give lower prevalence rates. NCMP data covers state schools but does not include independent sector children, and some larger children may opt out. The data is updated annually. Source: Public Health England (PHE) National Obesity Observatory.

This statistic presents opinions of British men and women in the United Kingdom (UK) regarding the Government's prioritisation of reducing childhood obesity rates, as of February 2015. In this period, ** percent of individuals interviewed think reducing childhood obesity rates should be a high priority for the government.

This report presents findings from the Government's National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) for England, 2023/24 school year. It covers children in Reception (aged 4-5 years) and Year 6 (aged 10-11 years) in mainstream state-maintained schools in England. The report contains analyses of Body Mass Index (BMI) classification rates by age, sex, deprivation and ethnicity as well as geographic analyses.

Note 27/01/12: An error affecting 2 rows in each of Table 3A and 3B within the NCMP England, 2010/11 Online Tables excel workbook have been identified. The errors affect figures for Central Bedfordshire Unitary Authority (row 216 in each table) and Cornwall Unitary Authority (row 385 in each table). The errors do not affect England level figures or data shown for any other breakdowns within other tables. The pdf file NCMP England, 2010/11 Report is unaffected. The NCMP England, 2010/11 Online Tables excel workbook has been re-issued with a corrected version of Tables 3A and 3B. These tables also have revised footnotes. Please see the errata note for further information. The NHS IC apologises for any inconvenience this may have caused. Summary: This report summarises the key findings from the Government's National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) for England, 2010/11 school year. The report provides high-level analysis of the prevalence of 'underweight', 'healthy weight', 'overweight', 'obese' and 'overweight and obese combined' children, in Reception (aged 4-5 years) and Year 6 (aged 10-11 years), measured in state schools in England in the school year 2010/11. The National Obesity Observatory (NOO) will produce additional analysis of 2010/11 NCMP data (expected to be published in Spring 2012). The anonymised national dataset will also be made available to Public Health Observatories (PHOs) to allow regional and local analysis of the data. In addition, NOO have included 2010/11 NCMP data (as well as data from previous years) in an e-Atlas - an interactive mapping tool that enables the user to compare a range of indicators, examine correlations and make regional and national comparisons. See 'Look up results for your area' on the right hand side.

This dataset presents the percentage of children aged 4 to 5 years in Reception who are classified as overweight or living with obesity. The data is sourced from the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP), managed by NHS England, and provides a snapshot of early childhood weight status across England. It is a key indicator for monitoring trends in childhood obesity and informing public health interventions aimed at improving children's health outcomes.

Rationale

The rationale behind this indicator is to reduce the proportion of children in Reception who are overweight or obese. Early childhood is a critical period for establishing healthy behaviours, and excess weight at this age is associated with a higher risk of obesity and related health conditions later in life. Monitoring this metric supports targeted prevention strategies and policy development.

Numerator

The numerator is the number of children in Reception (aged 4 to 5 years) with a valid height and weight measurement who are classified as living with obesity or severe obesity, as recorded by the NCMP.

Denominator

The denominator is the total number of children in Reception (aged 4 to 5 years) with a valid height and weight measurement recorded by the NCMP.

Caveats

There is potential for error in the collection, collation, and interpretation of the data. This includes possible bias due to poor response rates or selective opt-out by participants, which may affect the representativeness of the results.

External References

For more information, visit the Fingertips Public Health Profiles.

Click here to explore more from the Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Partnerships Outcome Framework.

The NCMP and Child Obesity Profile displays prevalence of obesity, severe obesity, overweight, healthy weight and underweight at local, regional and national level over time; for children in Reception (aged 4 to 5 years) and Year 6 (aged 10 to 11 years).

Users can compare local authority (LA) data by region or between ‘CIPFA nearest neighbours’ (LAs with similar characteristics).

The tool also presents inequalities in obesity prevalence by sex, deprivation quintile and ethnic group by LA.

The profile includes child obesity slope index of inequality (SII) for each of the 9 English regions and England. Historic regional SII is also included to allow for trend analysis. Details of the updates are provided in the HTML attachments.