MORE than 40 per cent of children in the Bradford district are overweight or obese when they leave primary school, with more than a quarter obese or severely obese.

A quarter of children from the most deprived areas of Bradford are obese at age 11, more than double the number of children from more affluent areas of the district.

Obesity is also more prevalent among children from ethnic minority backgrounds than among white children, and boys were revealed to be more obese than girls.

The figures come from data collected by Public Health England into the health of primary school-age children across the country.

Bradford has the highest rate of obesity in primary school leavers in Yorkshire and the Humber, and the joint-17th highest rate in England, excluding London boroughs.

Upon leaving primary school, 23.7 per cent of children in Bradford are obese, 14.3 per cent are overweight, and 4.8 per cent are severely obese; a total of 42.8 per cent.

A quarter of children from the most deprived backgrounds leave school obese, compared to a tenth of children from the least deprived areas.

Philip Davies, Conservative MP for Shipley, said the blame lay at the feet of the parents.

He said: “At the end of the day this has to come down to parental and individual responsibility.

“There are some things the state cannot control and this is one of those things.

“Parents need to ensure their children do not become obese and children need to spend more time being active and less time playing on computer games.”

Imran Hussain, Labour MP for Bradford East, said: “Under this Government’s cruel austerity agenda we have seen swingeing cuts causing a dramatic spike in levels of deprivation and child poverty.

“It is having a massively detrimental impact on the health of these children who are suffering from obesity, but also malnutrition, poor oral health and delayed development as well as other poor health outcomes.”

Judith Cummins, Labour MP for Bradford South, added: “These figures tell us what we sadly already know – that children from more disadvantaged areas are more likely to have poorer health outcomes than those who live in more affluent areas.

“This isn’t about blaming individual families. There’s evidence to suggest that junk food advertising is seen more by children from poorer backgrounds and that’s why Labour would ban such advertising on family television.”

Councillor Val Slater, portfolio holder for health and wellbeing on Bradford Council, said “We all have a role to play in helping people make healthy food choices and live active lifestyles as part of the solution to reducing obesity in our district. We’re asking all primary schools in Bradford to join us in doing the Daily Mile to help make schools in the district healthier, happier and great places to learn. It will help schools raise attainment levels, reduce childhood obesity and make a happy environment for them to learn in.”

Councillor Jackie Whiteley (Con, Wharfedale), who sits on the Bradford and Airedale health and wellbeing board, said: “The figures aren’t good enough, even though obesity rates have been stable in Bradford for some time.

“Changing behaviours is a huge task but the council can play its role in improving the health and wellbeing of residents.”

Last August the Government announced a new plan to tackle childhood obesity. Public Health England will look at unhealthy meals which children are eating and come up with a calorie reduction programme later this year. In April the sugar tax will come into effect, applying an extra levy on soft drinks with a sugar content of more than 5g per 100ml.