Child Obesity is an ever-increasing issue in the UK and can lead to serious implications for a child’s development and their long-term health. The National Child Measurement Programme is a government lead initiative which measures and analyses the BMI classification rates by sex, age, ethnicity, and geography, of children from England’s state-maintained schools.
The report recurrently shows that year on year obesity in children has been and is still on the rise. Reception years obesity levels in 2019 were at 10% (boys) and Year 6 at 20.2% (boys). This disparity clearly shows there is an opportunity to control the risk of obesity through a child’s Primary school years. With children required to be in education for an average of six hours a day, five days a week, schools are in one of the strongest positions to help enforce measures that will help reduce this risk and the health issues that are associated with obesity. A balanced and nutritious diet is vital to tackling the problem but just as important is ensuring children sustain regular daily exercise. PE lessons are the perfect opportunity to help every child towards achieving the governments advisory 60 minutes of daily exercise.