HEG welcomes the government’s renewed focus on tackling childhood obesity and commends the introduction of measures designed to promote healthier eating and increase opportunities for physical activity. Policies such as restricting junk food advertising, expanding free school meal provision, and introducing universal breakfast clubs represent important steps towards creating healthier environments for children and families.
However, the latest National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) data for 2024–2025 illustrate how inequalities in childhood weight outcomes deepen as children grow. The BMI distribution for Reception-aged children (aged 4–5 years) already shows a clear difference between deprivation groups, with children in the most deprived 10 per cent of areas having higher average BMI scores and a greater proportion of high BMI values compared to those in the least deprived areas. By Year 6 (aged 10–11 years), this gap becomes far more pronounced: the BMI distribution for the most deprived children shifts further to the right, indicating substantially higher rates of overweight and obesity, while the least deprived group remains closer to the 1990 baseline. The mean BMI centile difference between these groups widens from 3 centiles in Reception (61st vs 58th) to 11 centiles by Year 6 (67th vs 56th), demonstrating that deprivation increasingly compounds children’s risk of obesity as they grow. These data show that without targeted, sustained action, inequalities in healthy growth and development are likely to persist and intensify throughout childhood.
These findings underline that obesity is not evenly distributed across society but reflects deeper structural inequalities in access to healthy food, safe spaces for play, and supportive community environments. Tackling this challenge therefore requires a sustained, cross-government approach; one that combines regulatory action with investment in early years, public health, and local authority capacity. Additional measures could include:
The government’s preventative plans are a welcome foundation, but long-term progress will depend on sustained funding and a commitment to addressing the social, economic and commercial determinants of health. Only through equitable, population-level action can England hope to reverse current trends and give every child the opportunity for a healthy start in life.
Department of Health and Social Care. National Child Measurement Programme 2024–2025 Academic Year. Available from: https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/static-reports/obesity-physical-activity-nutrition/national-child-measurement-programme-2024-2025-academic-year.html
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