Concerning data highlights high rates of obesity in Merseyside

The alarming statistics showing children in Knowsley, Merseyside, had the highest rates of obesity in England and 75% of adults were overweight or obese were presented at a council meeting last month.

As reported by the BBC, a report provided by the Health and Wellbeing Board in Knowsley highlighted that 20.5% children who were a healthy weight when they started school were obese by the time they got to Year 6. It also showed that of those children who started school obese, 78% remained obese in Year 6.

Public health officer Esther Hindley said: “In some schools being overweight or obese will be the norm with three in four adults in Knowsley also classed as overweight or obese.”

In response to this worrying trend, Knowsley Council announced it would restrict adverts for unhealthy food on sites it owns.

Director of Public Health at Knowsley Council, Dr Sarah McNulty, said: "It is a poverty issue. It is a deprivation issue, and we need to acknowledge that when we're doing the work..We really have to push the prevention agenda."

A spokesman for Knowsley Council said the authority was working with partners across the borough to develop a new Healthy Weight Partnership Strategy. "We need to improve children's health in Knowsley and therefore tackling food-related ill health for our younger population is a priority for the council.

"The council and partners have already achieved a number of successes through the Healthy Weight Plan for Knowsley 2019-2024 Action Plan, including improved uptake of Healthy Start Vouchers, development of a healthier advertising policy and the adoption of the HENRY programme in Early Years.”