Fatter children are more likely to be bullied, miss school and have other health problems

Nearly four in ten children leaving primary school will be overweight or obese by 2024, health officials said.

The proportion of children aged ten and eleven who are an unhealthy weight when they leave primary school is predicted to rise by 11 per cent within five years, from 34.3 per cent to 38.1 per cent. Overweight children are more likely to be obese as adults, which raises the risk of serious health conditions including cancer.

Fatter children are also more likely to be bullied, miss school and have other health problems, experts have said. The figures, revealed in Public Health England’s Health Profile for England 2019 report, which provides an overview of the nation’s health, showed that children in deprived areas were twice as likely