Overweight children
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1. Main facts and figures
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in 2016/17, an estimated 22.6% of children aged 4 to 5 in England were overweight, an increase from 21.9% in 2014/15
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during the same period, the percentage of children aged 10 to 11 who were overweight increased from 33.2% to 34.2%
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in the 4 to 5 age group, Black African children were the most likely to be overweight in 2016/17, with almost a third (31.1%) being overweight
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in the 10 to 11 age group, Black African, Black Caribbean, Bangladeshi, and Other Black children were the most likely to be overweight
Things you need to know
The data is collected through the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP). As with any data source, errors may have been made when collecting, preparing or interpreting the data. Some overweight children may be more likely to opt out of participating in the NCMP than children who are not overweight. However the opt out rate is relatively low and the impact on the resulting statistics has been determined to be minimal.
Bear in mind that the trends shown in the data may not extend beyond the time series of this analysis.
The commentary only shows differences that have been tested and shown to be statistically significant. Differences are statistically significant if the results for the 2 groups or time periods being compared are within entirely different ranges.
The data presented here only includes children who participated in the NCMP in state-maintained schools. Any measurements taken at independent or special schools are excluded from this analysis.
What the data measures
This data measures the percentage of children who are overweight in 2 age groups:
- reception year (when children are usually aged 4 to 5 years)
- year 6 (when children are usually aged 10 to 11 years)
The data covers children in state-maintained schools, but not those in independent or special schools.
A child is defined as overweight based on their body mass index (BMI), which is measured using their weight, height, age and sex.
Each child’s BMI is compared to a large sample of other children known as the ‘reference population’, and the child is placed in a ‘percentile’ (100 increments from lowest to highest BMI).
A child is classed as overweight if they are in the 85th percentile or above – that is, 85% of the reference population has a lower BMI.
The main thresholds indicating an unhealthy weight are:
- second percentile: underweight
- 85th percentile: overweight
- 95th percentile: obese
Estimates are based on measurements of children in the [National Child Measurement Programme] (https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/national-child-measurement-programme/) (NCMP) in participating schools in England in academic years 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17.
There is a different way of defining overweight adults.
The ethnic categories used in this data
The 16 categories used in this data are those listed in the 2001 census. The categories are broadly the same as those used in the 2011 census, with the following exceptions:
- the 2001 census categorised Chinese people within 'Other ethnic group'
- the 2001 census did not list Gypsy and Irish Travellers or Arab people
The 2001 categories are therefore as follows:
White:
- English/ Welsh/ Scottish/ Northern Irish/ British
- Irish
- Any other White background
Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups:
- White and Black Caribbean
- White and Black African
- White and Asian
- Any other Mixed/Multiple ethnic background
Asian/Asian British:
- Indian
- Pakistani
- Bangladeshi
- Any other Asian background
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British:
- African
- Caribbean
- Any other Black/African/Caribbean background
Other ethnic group:
- Chinese
- Any other ethnic group
2. Overweight children by ethnicity
| 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | 2014/15 4 to 5 year olds (%) | 2014/15 10 to 11 year olds (%) | 2015/16 4 to 5 year olds (%) | 2015/16 10 to 11 year olds (%) | 2016/17 4 to 5 year olds (%) | 2016/17 10 to 11 year olds (%) |
| All | 21.9 | 33.2 | 22.1 | 34.2 | 22.6 | 34.2 |
| Asian | ||||||
| Bangladeshi | 21.6 | 43.0 | 20.3 | 42.7 | 21.4 | 44.3 |
| Chinese | 17.3 | 29.8 | 17.1 | 30.2 | 15.8 | 33.9 |
| Indian | 14.9 | 35.1 | 14.5 | 36.3 | 14.9 | 36.7 |
| Pakistani | 19.8 | 39.1 | 19.2 | 40.6 | 20.2 | 40.6 |
| Asian other | 19.4 | 38.6 | 19.6 | 38.2 | 19.3 | 40.8 |
| Black | ||||||
| Black African | 30.8 | 44.8 | 31.2 | 45.9 | 31.1 | 46.2 |
| Black Caribbean | 24.7 | 43.1 | 25.2 | 45.3 | 25.3 | 45.4 |
| Black other | 28.7 | 43.4 | 28.4 | 41.6 | 27.9 | 43.9 |
| Mixed | ||||||
| Mixed White/Asian | 15.6 | 29.4 | 16.2 | 30.1 | 15.7 | 29.6 |
| Mixed White/Black African | 28.6 | 39.6 | 26.7 | 40.3 | 28.3 | 39.6 |
| Mixed White/Black Caribbean | 25.5 | 39.5 | 24.9 | 39.4 | 25.9 | 40.1 |
| Mixed other | 22.1 | 35.2 | 22.0 | 36.7 | 21.7 | 34.2 |
| White | ||||||
| White British | 22.1 | 31.3 | 22.4 | 31.9 | 22.9 | 31.6 |
| White Irish | 23.8 | 31.8 | 24.7 | 32.8 | 26.6 | 33.3 |
| White other | 20.7 | 35.1 | 20.4 | 36.2 | 20.9 | 36.0 |
| Other | ||||||
| Any other | 23.2 | 39.1 | 23.8 | 40.6 | 22.9 | 40.7 |
Download table data for ‘Overweight children by ethnicity ’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Overweight children by ethnicity ’ (CSV)
Summary of Overweight children Overweight children by ethnicity Summary
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in 2016/17, on average 22.6% of children in England aged 4 to 5 years, and 34.2% of those aged 10 to 11 years, were overweight
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between 2014/15 and 2016/17, the percentage of children aged 4 to 5 who were overweight increased from 21.9% to 22.6%
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in the same period, the percentage of children aged 10 to 11 who were overweight increased from 33.2% to 34.2%
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the percentage of White British children aged 4 to 5 who were overweight increased from 22.1% in 2014/15 to 22.9% in 2016/17, the percentage of overweight Pakistani children aged 10 to 11 and children from Other Asian backgrounds in the same age group also increased – for changes shown in all other ethnic groups, the number of people surveyed was too small to draw firm conclusions
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the percentage of children aged 4 to 5 who were overweight was lower than average in the following ethnic groups: Indian, Mixed White and Asian, Chinese, Any other Asian background, Pakistani, Any other White background, Bangladeshi and Any other Mixed background
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the percentage of children aged 10 to 11 who were overweight was lower than average in the Mixed White and Asian, and White British groups
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in the 4 to 5 age group, Black African children were the most likely to be overweight in 2016/17, with almost a third (31.1%) overweight
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in the 10 to 11 age group, Black African, Black Caribbean, Bangladeshi, and Other Black children were the most likely to be overweight (at 46.2%, 45.4%, 44.3% and 43.9%, respectively)
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in every ethnic group, a higher percentage of children aged 10 to 11 were overweight compared with children aged 4 to 5
3. Methodology
Launched in 2005/06, the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) measures over one million children each year and is a valuable source of data on childhood obesity.
Measurements of height and weight are collected from children in reception (ages 4 to 5) and year 6 (ages 10 to 11), primarily in state-maintained schools in England. This analysis is based only on children in state-maintained schools that participated in the programme. England totals include all children in state-maintained schools, with a valid height and weight measurement, including those with an unknown residency. Children aren’t required to participate in the programme, but if they don’t want to they need to opt out. In 2016/17 there were 1,186,000 participants, with only 5% of pupils opting out.
Confidence intervals The confidence intervals for each ethnic group are available in the ‘download the data’ section.
The NCMP is calculated from the number of schoolchildren aged 4 to 5 and aged 10 to 11 in state-maintained schools, rather than all schoolchildren of those ages in England. This measure makes a reliable estimate of the percentage of children of these ages in England who are overweight, but it’s impossible to be 100% certain of the true percentage.
Based on the NCMP measurements, it’s estimated that 22.6% of children aged 4 to 5 and 34.2% of children aged 10 to 11 were overweight in England in 2016/17.
It’s 95% certain, however, that somewhere between 22.5% and 22.7% of all 4 to 5 year olds were overweight in 2016/17. In statistical terms, this is a 95% confidence interval. This means that if 100 random samples were taken from the total population of school age children in England, then 95 times out of 100 the estimate would fall between the upper and lower confidence interval. But 5 times out of 100 it would fall outside this range.
The smaller the size of the population, the more uncertain the estimate and the wider the confidence interval. For example, fewer children from the Chinese ethnic group are enrolled in state-maintained schools in England than White children, so we can be less certain about the estimate for the smaller group. This greater uncertainty is expressed by a wider confidence interval, for example of between 14.5% and 17.2% of Chinese children aged 4 to 5 were overweight in 2016/17. Statistically significant findings have been determined where the 95% confidence intervals of an ethnic group do not overlap with the England value.
Suppression rules and disclosure control
England totals include all children in state-maintained schools, with a valid height and weight measurement, including those with an unknown residency.
Rounding
Figures have been rounded to one decimal point.
Quality and methodology information
Further technical information
National Child Measurement Programme
National Child Measurement Programme archives
National Child Measurement Programme - England, 2016-17
4. Data sources
Source
Public Health Outcomes Framework - NCMP
Type of data
Survey data
Type of statistic
Official statistics
Publisher
Public Health England
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) measures the height and weight of children in reception class (aged 4 to 5 years) and year 6 (aged 10 to 11 years) to assess overweight and obesity levels in children within primary schools. This data can be used at a national level to support local public health initiatives and inform the local planning and delivery of services for children.
Secondary source
National Child Measurement Programme
Type of data
Administrative data
Type of statistic
Official statistics
Publisher
NHS England
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) measures the height and weight of children in reception class (aged 4 to 5) and year 6 (aged 10 to 11), to assess overweight and obesity levels in children within primary schools.
5. Download the data
This file contains the following: ethnicity, year, age group, value, numerator, denominator and confidence intervals