Almost a third of children starting school in North Wales are overweight

Almost a third of children in North Wales are overweight when they start school.

Figures show that 28.6% of children aged four to five in North Wales have been found to be overweight when they are starting school.

With many of them having weight issues that have a negative effect on their health, 12.3% of school starters being classed as obese.

The numbers for obese children are above the average in England where 9.6% of children in reception classes were found to be obese last year.

A report before Betsi Cadwlaladr University Health Board said steps that need to be taken included cutting the amount of screen time children get.

This means lowering the amount of time that young children have using devices like mobile phones, tablets and televisions.

It also said new mothers should be encouraged to breast feed to help reduce obesity.

The report written by Sarah Andrews, Principal Public Health Practitioner and Siobhan Adams, Consultant in Public health, warned that when people are overweight as youngsters they will often stay so into adulthood with health problems as a result.

It said: “Obesity in childhood leads to significant health issues across the life course, and some areas of North Wales have the highest prevalence of childhood obesity in the UK. Wales has the highest prevalence of maternal obesity of all the UK countries.
“Obesity in pregnancy is currently one of the biggest threats to maternal and child health in developed countries. Women who are obese are more than twice as likely to have a stillborn baby, and the risk increases with increasing maternal BMI.
“Babies born to obese mothers are less likely to be breast-fed, more likely to
have congenital anomalies, especially neural tube defects, and to require admission to neonatal units. It is also more difficult to monitor the health of these babies during pregnancy and birth.”

The health board has a three year plan to tackle childhood obesity which set out steps that can be taken to make improvements.

These include increasing breastfeeding rates, encouraging families to plan to be healthier, limiting screen time and telling families that water and milk are the only drinks that children need.

The report said:

“In North Wales 28.6% of children starting school (aged 4-5 years) are overweight or obese, including 12.3% obese. Studies have shown that once these children are obese the vast majority are still obese years later, and likely to continue into adulthood. Obesity prevention therefore has to start very early in life to be effective.”

By: Shane Brennan – Local Democracy Reporting Service.