Action is still needed on childhood obesity
LEVELS of excess weight among Guernsey school children are still of concern and show a continuing need for action, Guernsey’s head of health intelligence has said.
The Guernsey Child Measurement Programme report was last published in 2019 and is based on recordings of the heights and weights of children in Years 1 and 5, which were taken annually.
The 2022 findings were close to those of 2019, said the report, with one in six Year 1 children having unhealthy weight, while 9% were overweight and 8.7% obese.
Among children measured in Year 5, 26.7% had excess weight while 10.6% were overweight and 16.1% obese.
Children who were measured in Year 1 in 2018 were
re-measured this year as Year 5s and the prevalence of overweight and obesity in that group had increased from 17.2% to 26.7%.
‘A large increase has been observed for all the cohorts measured twice since the start of the measurement programme,’ said the report.
However, 23% of those who were overweight or obese in Year 1 had attained a healthy weight by Year 5.
There were 1,144 children measured, of whom 252 were found to be overweight or obese across both age groups.
Head of health intelligence Jenny Cataroche said while there had been no measurable deterioration in the measurements in the groups compared to 2019, the levels were still concerning.
‘[The levels] highlight an
ongoing need for action, but we must acknowledge that there is a certain achievement to holding the previous position, with no worsening, in what has been a time of unprecedented change and uncertainty for local children and families over the past three years,’ she said.
There were a lower proportion of youngsters with unhealthy weight at fee-paying schools than at States schools.
Director of public health Dr Nicola Brink said: ‘Importantly the findings of differences in overweight by school fee status hint that the Bailiwick conforms to the pattern seen in other places – namely that a child’s broad socio-economic environment can lead to measurable differences in health indicators like weight status.’
Health Improvement Commission chief executive Dr Simon Sebire said that it was encouraging that Guernsey had not seen childhood overweight and obesity levels increase during the pandemic.
‘However the stable overall levels and the health inequality seen in the results show
that childhood obesity remains one of the most serious health challenges faced locally,’ he said.
