Overweight children
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1. Main facts and figures
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in 2019/20, an estimated 23% of children aged 4 to 5 in England were overweight or living with obesity, an increase from 2014/15 (21.9%)
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in 2019/20, the percentage of children aged 10 to 11 who were overweight was 35.2%, also increasing from 2014/15 (33.2%)
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in the 4 to 5 age group, almost a third (29.8%) of Black African children were overweight or living with obesity in 2019/20, the highest proportion of any ethnic group
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in the 10 to 11 age group, almost half (46.2%) of Black African children were overweight, also the highest proportion of any ethnic group
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
The data measures the percentage of children in state-funded mainstream primary schools who are overweight or living with obesity.
Estimates are shown for 2 school years:
- reception year (when children are usually 4 to 5 years old)
- year 6 (when children are usually 10 to 11 years old)
Children are defined as overweight or living with obesity based on their body mass index (BMI), which is measured using their weight, height, age and sex.
Percentages are rounded to 1 decimal point.
Not included in the data
The data does not include children in independent schools and special schools.
The ethnic groups used in the data
Estimates are shown for the 16 ethnic groups used in the 2001 Census.
Methodology
Read the detailed methodology document for the data on this page.
Data collected during the 2019-20 school year was impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic.
In the data file
See Download the data for confidence intervals for each ethnic group. Find out how we use confidence intervals to determine how reliable estimates are.
3. By ethnicity
| 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 (%) | 2017/18 4 to 5 year olds (%) | 2017/18 10 to 11 year olds (%) | 2018/19 4 to 5 year olds (%) | 2018/19 10 to 11 year olds (%) | 2019/20 4 to 5 year olds (%) | 2019/20 10 to 11 year olds (%) |
| All | 21.9 | 33.2 | 22.1 | 34.2 | 22.6 | 34.2 | 22.4 | 34.3 | 22.6 | 34.3 | 23.0 | 35.2 |
| Asian | ||||||||||||
| Bangladeshi | 21.6 | 43.0 | 20.3 | 42.7 | 21.4 | 44.3 | 20.7 | 43.9 | 21.4 | 44.5 | 21.5 | 45.1 |
| Indian | 14.9 | 35.1 | 14.5 | 36.3 | 14.9 | 36.7 | 13.8 | 36.5 | 14.0 | 36.2 | 13.8 | 36.2 |
| Pakistani | 19.8 | 39.1 | 19.2 | 40.6 | 20.2 | 40.6 | 20.4 | 40.2 | 19.9 | 40.8 | 20.4 | 40.7 |
| Asian other | 19.4 | 38.6 | 19.6 | 38.2 | 19.3 | 40.8 | 19.7 | 38.8 | 19.1 | 39.4 | 18.9 | 40.0 |
| Black | ||||||||||||
| Black African | 30.8 | 44.8 | 31.2 | 45.9 | 31.1 | 46.2 | 30.8 | 46.0 | 30.9 | 45.8 | 29.8 | 46.2 |
| Black Caribbean | 24.7 | 43.1 | 25.2 | 45.3 | 25.3 | 45.4 | 25.2 | 44.2 | 26.3 | 43.8 | 26.3 | 44.9 |
| Black other | 28.7 | 43.4 | 28.4 | 41.6 | 27.9 | 43.9 | 28.1 | 43.0 | 29.0 | 44.6 | 26.7 | 42.6 |
| Mixed | ||||||||||||
| Mixed White/Asian | 15.6 | 29.4 | 16.2 | 30.1 | 15.7 | 29.6 | 15.5 | 29.7 | 16.1 | 31.4 | 17.0 | 31.4 |
| Mixed White/Black African | 28.6 | 39.6 | 26.7 | 40.3 | 28.3 | 39.6 | 27.7 | 41.5 | 27.2 | 42.0 | 27.4 | 43.4 |
| Mixed White/Black Caribbean | 25.5 | 39.5 | 24.9 | 39.4 | 25.9 | 40.1 | 25.4 | 40.3 | 25.9 | 40.1 | 27.1 | 41.0 |
| Mixed other | 22.1 | 35.2 | 22.0 | 36.7 | 21.7 | 34.2 | 20.5 | 35.1 | 21.9 | 35.4 | 21.2 | 36.4 |
| White | ||||||||||||
| White British | 22.1 | 31.3 | 22.4 | 31.9 | 22.9 | 31.6 | 22.7 | 31.9 | 23.1 | 31.7 | 23.8 | 32.9 |
| White Irish | 23.8 | 31.8 | 24.7 | 32.8 | 26.6 | 33.3 | 23.7 | 31.7 | 24.6 | 31.3 | 23.2 | 34.9 |
| White other | 20.7 | 35.1 | 20.4 | 36.2 | 20.9 | 36.0 | 20.7 | 35.8 | 20.7 | 35.5 | 21.2 | 36.7 |
| Other including Chinese | ||||||||||||
| Chinese | 17.3 | 29.8 | 17.1 | 30.2 | 15.8 | 33.9 | 18.3 | 30.1 | 14.5 | 30.5 | 14.9 | 32.9 |
| Any other | 23.2 | 39.1 | 23.8 | 40.6 | 22.9 | 40.7 | 23.5 | 39.6 | 23.1 | 40.8 | 23.2 | 40.4 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV)
4. Data sources
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: measure, ethnicity, year, gender, age group, value, numerator (count), denominator, confidence intervals (upper bound, lower bond)