Thousands of youngsters across Hampshire facing battle against obesity

New figures have shown that more than a third of all ten and 11-year-olds in Southampton are obese and in the rest of Hampshire the figure is not far behind.

The statistics can be revealed after health chiefs weighed more than 34,000 schoolchildren across the county.

A now a campaign has been launched to slash the amount of sugar being consumed by the region’s school children.

According to Public Health England Hampshire primary school children consume more than 11g of sugar – or nearly three cubes – at breakfast alone.

Deputy Director of Health and Wellbeing of PHE south east Angela Baker said: “The latest child obesity figures for the south east show just how important it is for families to know what they are putting on their plates.”

The findings have lead central government to launch a £6.3 million campaign aimed at reducing the amount of unhealthy food families eat.

The Change4Life campaign being rolled out across the country includes an app for scanning barcodes to reveal the amount of sugar, saturated fat and salt in food.

Experts say that the recommended daily maximum of sugar is no more than five cubes of per day for children aged four to six and no more than six cubes for children aged seven to ten.

But by teatime children have consumed more than three times these recommended amounts, meaning that 22.2 per cent of Southampton’s reception age children are overweight, rising to 36.7 per cent by the time they’re ten years old.

Southampton councillor Dave Shields welcomed the campaign but urged services to work together to combat childhood obesity.

The Freemantle Labour cabinet member for health and sustainable living said: “The health service, schools and early years need to work together to address this issue.

“Blaming parents isn’t necessarily going to help the matter.

“We want to encourage people to cycle more and walk more but we can’t provide subsidised access to leisure like we could years ago because we don’t have the resources.”

He added that the city council had already launched its own drive to cut childhood obesity rates.

“Tackling obesity in children and adults is a key priority for Southampton City Council and we are working in partnership with key local organisations to develop a plan that considers a wide range of influences on the issue, from education and support for lifestyle change, to town planning and the built environment.

“Obesity cannot be addressed by a single organisation or by a single intervention. Action is needed across all sectors and organisations and our plan will seek to mobilise the whole community in tackling this issue.

“We already run the healthy ‘Cook & Eat on a Budget’ programme delivered in Children’s Centres and engage with families through the Change 4 Life campaign delivered in conjunction with Public Health England.

“I would like to do much more with further support for healthy schools, active travel, promotion of the take up of sports, subsidised leisure activities for people on low incomes and more.

"However, the reductions in our public health grant by central government severely limit our capacity for this kind of universal action.”

Putting People First councillor Tammy Thomas also welcomed the government campaign.

She said: “The sugary foods are cheaper so maybe a sugar tax is the way forward. Healthy eating needs to be part of the curriculum.

"But any programme needs to implemented with the right support. I do wonder how it will be received by the parents of overweight children.

“We always used to go to Aldermoor Farm to buy fresh fruit but that’s gone now. We need to make sure it doesn’t provoke a massive influx at GP surgeries which are overstretched as it is.

"It needs to involve all services.”

In Hampshire the figures show that a fifth of four and five years are obese and by the time they are ten and 11 years old that number rises to almost 30 per cent.

Hampshire County Council head of health councillor Patricia Stallard, pictured left, said: “We are supporting parents and families to make healthy choices that help their children to maintain a healthy weight.

"I very much welcome Public Health England’s ‘Be Food Smart’ campaign which enables families to make healthier food and drink choices, particularly around breakfast time.

“We want to do the best for our children, but there can be hidden sugar in food and it is hard to know sometimes what the healthy choice is.

"I would encourage everyone to give the free Be Food Smart app a go which allows you to scan the barcode of everyday food and drink products and see how much total sugar, saturated fat and salt they contain.”

As previously reported by the Daily Echo Hampshire nearly 600 obese residents have taken up Hampshire county council’s offer for 12 free weeks at Weight Watchers – although the scheme is not open to residents with a Southampton post code.

The nutrient data in the Be Food Smart app features over 114,000 products and is available for free to download from the Apple App store or Google Play.

Supermarkets and manufacturers pledging their support to the campaign are Aldi, Asda, Weetabix, Soreen, Rachel’s organic, Robinsons, Mornflake and Ribena.

200 parents were asked about what their children eat for breakfast in a survey commissioned by PHE in November 2016.