OBESITY levels in 10 and 11-year-olds has hit an all time high according to recent statistics from Public Health England.

Last week Public Health England released new figures which reveal the surprising statistics of childhood obesity.

In particular, of children aged 10-11 years old nearly 22 per cent of boys are overweight, a 2.8 per cent increase from 10 years ago.

Additionally nearly one in every five girls this age group have are considered to be obese, a 2.3 per cent increase over the past decade.

As well as being a prominent health issue across the country, childhood obesity is a problem in the South West with 16.9 per cent of children aged 10 and 11 years of age in the South West being obese, and nearly one in every 10 youngster in the four to five year old age bracket being obese.

Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at Public Health England, commented on these statistics: “The rise in severe obesity and widening health inequalities highlight why bold measures are needed to tackle this threat to our children’s health.”

There are numerous factors which are to blame for the rise in childhood obesity, one in every four of all places to eat in the UK are fast food restaurants, and regular consumption of fast food may lead to childhood obesity.

It is believed that the levels of fast food chains in the UK means that only 16% of children eat an average of 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day.

In addition to this, foods which are worse for your health are often cheaper and therefore accessible to more people.

However with the introduction of the sugar tax in April 2018, hopes to go some way to combat the accessibility of sugary foods, which in turn should be decreased to reduce the levels of obesity in the UK

Public Health England plan to work with the food industry to cut 20 per cent of sugar from everyday food and drink products by 2020, and 20 per cent of calories by 2024.

Less children are doing extra-curricular sports activities, which means only 10 per cent of children aged two to four years of age get the amount of daily exercise recommended by the Department for Health.

Increasing the amount of young people getting into sports in the local area will mean a better lifestyle for them and decreased levels of obesity.

In addition to this, joining a sports club will keep it well funded to make sure the next generation have the same opportunities in exercise and sports.

Obesity is not only a social and economical issue, but also a health issue as 617,000 NHS hospital cases had obesity as a factor towards the injury or illness.