The scale of obesity among schoolchildren was today highlighted in a national report.

The report by the NHS Information Centre summarises key findings of the Government’s National Child Measurement Programme.

This saw children aged four and five (reception) and those aged ten and 11 (year six) measured in 2008/9 to establish the numbers of pupils who were ‘underweight’, ‘healthy weight’, ‘overweight’ and ‘obese’.

In the Bradford district, 21.7 per cent of reception pupils started school either overweight or obese, compared to a national average of 22.8 per cent, and 33.5 per cent of year six pupils were classified as overweight or obese compared to a national average of 32.6 per cent.

In the NHS Bradford and Airedale area, a total of 6,160 reception and 5,489 year six children were weighed and measured.

The report, published yesterday, shows obesity prevalence was significantly higher than the national average in the London, North East and West Midlands strategic health authority areas for both age groups.

Dr Shirley Brierley, public health consultant for Bradford and Airedale, said: “Obesity is a major public health issue nationally and Bradford is no exception.

“Our aim is to provide families with a wide choice of support and initiatives which will meet their individual needs, such as summer camps and free community courses.

“Children of a healthy weight are more likely to grow into healthy adults. Those who are overweight are more likely to have high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

“It is important for parents and carers to help their children to eat a well-balanced diet and be physically active to make sure they grow healthily. Just small changes such as restricting the length of time your child watches TV, or plays on the computer and eating regular meals together as a family can really help.

“The latest figures show that obesity rates across the district are starting to fall. Early indications do show that areas with high obesity rates seem to be linked to those with high levels of deprivation. We need to continue to collect the data so we can plan services to help families stay healthy.

“The evidence shows that there are many obese children in every part of the city, not just a few isolated areas and that picture is quite complex as there are some underweight children as well.”

The report is at ic.nhs.uk/ ncmp.