Overview
- National Child Measurement Programme data for 2024/25 show Reception obesity at 10.5%, the highest outside the pandemic era.
- About 1.1 million children in state-maintained schools were measured across Reception and Year 6.
- In Reception, 13% were overweight in addition to those obese, leaving nearly one in four children overweight or obese.
- In Year 6, obesity remained at 22.2% with 13.9% overweight, so more than one in three older primary pupils are overweight or obese.
- Severe obesity affected 2.9% of Reception children and 5.6% of Year 6; deprivation gaps were stark, and officials including NHS leaders and the Health Secretary called for coordinated prevention as some experts cautioned more years of data are needed to confirm trends in the youngest group.