There has been an 80% increase in severe obesity rates for children living in the country’s most deprived areas
Sefton Council meeting at Southport Town Hall(Image: Copyright Unknown)
Overweight and obesity rates in children and adults in one part of Merseyside is ‘significantly higher’ than in other parts of the country, according to a public health report. The rates of ‘severe obesity’ for children living in the country’s most deprived areas has seen a massive 80% increase since 2007.
These figures were presented to Sefton Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee for Adult Social Care (ASC) and Health which convened last night Tuesday January 7 to review ASC performance data. The report was created using population data in the borough but was also informed by national data such as the indices of multiple deprivation to explore the impact of socio-economic inequalities.
The overweight and obesity rate for adults and young children in Sefton is significantly higher than other parts of the country. In the UK, overweight and obesity are fast gaining on smoking as a leading preventable cause of life limiting long-term conditions. Health officials have said these data illustrate the ‘powerful interactions’ between food poverty, food environments and 21st century food habits and steering away from ‘individualistic interventions’ to deliver high impact change.
Concerningly, the rate of physical inactivity in Sefton is a much bigger problem than local authority areas across England. National data shows there is a strong socio-economic gradient, associating higher rates of physical inactivity with higher deprivation and lower paid occupations and economic inactivity.
The latest data also shows the level of obesity in reception age children in Sefton is notably higher than the England average and more prevalent than all but one statistical neighbour. During the period between 2007 and 2023, year 6 obesity rates in Sefton rose markedly from 17.3% to 23.9%.
This means over the course of their primary school years, the prevalence of obesity increased from one in ten children at reception stage to almost one in four children in 2022/23. In children from the most disadvantaged areas in England, rates of severe obesity saw a massive 80% increase over the same period.
A Sefton public health official in attendance said: “The most severe categories of obesity is very sensitive to deprivation – overweight not so much obesity, quite sensitive. There’s a proportion of children growing up in our poorest households who carry a very high risk of obesity related ill health.”