Obesity is rising among final year primary school pupils in Bradford, according to a new report.

However, the number of obese reception class pupils in the city has fallen slightly according to latest figures from the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP), which were published yesterday by the NHS Information Centre.

The NCMP sees school nurses measuring the height and weight of children in reception class – four to five-year-olds – and Year 6 – ten to 11-year-olds – in primary schools to establish the prevalence of pupils who are underweight, healthy weight, overweight and obese.

Participation in the programme in the Bradford district has increased year on year since it was first introduced in 2005 and now 91 per cent of eligible pupils in Bradford and Airedale take part.

Julia Burrows, consultant in public health at NHS Airedale, Bradford and Leeds, said obesity was a major public health issue nationally and the Bradford and Airedale district was no different.

“The latest figures suggest obesity rates across the district have fallen a little since the survey was first analysed thoroughly in 2008,” she said.

“The latest figures (2010/11) show there were 22 per cent of children aged four and five, and 35 per cent aged 10 and 11 who were either overweight or obese. In Bradford district as a whole the proportion of overweight and obese four and five-year-olds has reduced slightly between 2008 and 2011.

“However, there has been a slight increase in the proportion of overweight and obese children aged 10 and 11 during the same period."