Huge increase in number of obese 10 and 11 year olds in East Lancs

Since 2006, the percentage of Year 6 children classed as obese has risen dramatically, with youngsters in Blackburn with Darwen, Hyndburn and Burnley the worst affected.

Figures from Public Health England show the staggering increase in obesity levels over the last 15/16 years, with many of East Lancashire’s boroughs now facing a health crisis as the percentage of overweight 10 and 11-year-olds in each area continues to soar.

In 2006/07, around 32 per cent of the nation’s 10 and 11 year-old’s were overweight or obese. That number has increased by about six percent, to 38 per cent in 2021/22.

The rise in availabilty of fast food and other high-calorie products for young people, combined with falling levels of physical activity among youngsters, has seen waistlines in primary schools continue to bulge.

The shocking statistics show that while the percentage of children in East Lancashire classed as obese in 2006/07 was below the national average, every borough, bar the Ribble Valley, is now in-line or higher than the national average.

In Blackburn with Darwen in 2006/07, around 31 per cent of Year 6 children were classed as overweight or obese.

This shot up to around 45 per cent during the Covid pandemic, when it is believed figures were skewed slightly, and now sits at around 39 per cent for 2021/22.

BwD chart (Image: Agency)

In Hyndburn, around 28 per cent of Year 6 children were classed as overweight or obese in 2006/07, with the figure rising dramatically this year, where it’s estimated that more than 42 per cent of the borough’s 10 and 11 year-olds are overweight.

Hyndburn chart (Image: Agency)

A similar pattern can be seen in Burnley, where in 2006/07, 30 per cent of Year 6’s were classed as overweight, whereas now, the figure is very similar to Hyndburn’s, at around 42 per cent.  

Burnley chart (Image: Agency)

Pendle and Rossendale had some of the lowest numbers of obese children in 2006/07, with percentages hovering around 27 and 25 per cent respectively. Shockingly, 40 per cent of Pendle’s Year 6’s are now classed as overweight or obese, and in Rossendale that figure has jumped to 38 per cent.

Pendle chart (Image: Agency)

Rossendale chart (Image: Agency)

Despite the Ribble Valley managing to remain below the national average, with 33 per cent of Year 6’s being classed as overweight in 2021/22, the figure for this local authority has still increased, from 28 per cent in 2006/07.

Ribble Valley chart (Image: Agency)

Public Health England has now revealed tackling obesity is one of the greatest long-term health challenges facing the North West, as overall, 39 per cent of all Year 6 children living in the region classed as overweight or obese.

According to the most recent figures, a staggering 31,975 children in the region aged 10-11 are classified as overweight or obese in 2021/22, a figure that has risen by 35 per cent since the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2019/20, 23,540 Year 6 children were classed as overweight or obese before records were skewed during the 2020/21 Covid-crisis.

According to eating disorder experts at the UK Addiction Treatment Group (UKAT), the number of kids overweight or obese in 2021/22 in the North West is the highest count of overweight or obese children age 10-11 ever recorded, with figures going back as far as 2006/07.

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.

Executive member for health and wellbeing at Blackburn with Darwen Council, Cllr Damian Talbot said: "The impact of recent years in the pandemic and the fact people's activity was reduced for some time has had an impact nationally, and locally.

"We are still in a time where we want to get back to some normality in terms of activity levels before the pandemic, and we have schemes across the borough which we are working hard on.

"We've actually introduced some free provision in areas where we know activity levels have dropped.

"Unfortunately we are seeing the impact of home delivery of food, for instance. That has really taken off in the last few years.

"People in the borough are getting more and more food delivered at home and it concerns me as there's less contriol over it.

"It's part of a national pattern but we're doing the best we can in the borough to combat it."

Burnley Council has also been contacted for comment. 

Head of treatment for the UKAT group, Nuno Albuquerque, said: “Our concern is for the physical and mental well-being of children who are overweight or living with obesity.

“The health consequences of childhood obesity include type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and exacerbation of conditions like asthma, to name a few.

“But the psychological problems that come with obesity at such a young age include social isolation, low self-esteem and bullying, all factors that go hand in hand with the development of an eating disorder.

“We treat people aged 16 and over for eating disorders, and the vast majority of those began their unhealthy relationship with food during their childhood.

“For some, over-eating is not a choice, it is a progressive illness that worsens over time and can be extremely dangerous.

“These figures clearly show that children’s eating habits worsened during the global pandemic and as a society, we need to tackle this head on as a priority.”