Almost one in five Year 6 children in Cornwall are obese
Officials say healthy food "should be a right and not a privilege"
Almost one in five children in Cornwall are finishing primary school obese, new figures reveal.
The Royal College of GPs said access to healthy food "should be a right and not a privilege," as a study found children in the most deprived areas of England are more than twice as likely to be obese than those in the least deprived.
NHS Digital figures show 18.1% of Year 6 pupils in Cornwall in 2019-20 were obese, of which 3.4% were severely obese, with a body mass index (BMI) in the top 0.4% for a child's age and sex.
Additionally, 13.8% of children were overweight.
That means 31.9% of Cornwall's youngsters are unhealthily overweight when they finish primary school.
The data comes from the Government's annual National Child Measurement Programme – part of its approach to tackling obesity – which records the height and weight of Year 6 and reception-age children in state-maintained schools across England to monitor obesity trends.
It revealed that 27.5% of 10 and 11-year-old children living in the most deprived areas of England were obese compared to 11.9% of those living in the least deprived areas.
Among reception-age children, 13.3% in the most deprived areas were obese compared to 6% in the least deprived.
Professor Rachel Batterham, special adviser on obesity for the Royal College of GPs, said the impact of deprivation on childhood obesity rates nationally is "alarming".
She said: "Access to healthy food should be a right and not a privilege.
"The gap in obesity prevalence between children from the most deprived and least deprived areas is stark and growing.
"It is clear that socio-economic factors such as under-employment or poverty play a key role in driving obesity and poor health, and that a whole-government approach is critical in order to reduce health inequalities and obesity rates."
Professor Rachel Batterham, Royal College of GPs
Across England, obesity prevalence among both reception and Year 6 pupils rose in 2019-20, to 9.9% and 21% respectively.
Caroline Cerny, alliance lead at Obesity Health Alliance, said: “These results are not good news for child health.
“In a year when public health has been propelled to the forefront of politics, we now need action on child health – not just words.
“Taking junk food out of the spotlight through restrictions on marketing and promotions – including the long overdue 9pm watershed on junk food adverts – should be the first step.
“The sooner action is taken, the sooner we can give all children the chance to grow up healthy."
Caroline Cerny, Obesity Health Alliance