National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP)

Reception

• The percentage of children of healthy weight in Reception in Wakefield (76%) was similar to the regional (76%) and slightly worse than the national (78%) average.
• The percentage of children living with underweight in Reception in Wakefield was the same as the regional and national average (1%).
• The percentage of children living with overweight in Reception in Wakefield (13%) was similar to the regional (13%) and national (12%) averages.
• The percentage of children living with obesity (including severe obesity) in Reception in Wakefield (10%) was similar to the regional (10%) and slightly worse than the national (9%) average.

Year 6

• In 2022/2023 prevalence of healthy weight for children in Year 6 in Wakefield (60%) was similar to the regional (60%) and slightly worse than the national (62%) average.
• In 2022/2023 prevalence of living with underweight for children in Year 6 in Wakefield (2%) was similar to the regional (1%) and national (2%) average.
• The percentage of children living with overweight in Year 6 in Wakefield was the same as the regional and national average (14%).
• The percentage of children living with obesity (including severe obesity) in Year 6 in Wakefield (25%) was similar to the regional (24%) and slightly worse than the national (23%) average.

Children in reception are more likely to be a healthy weight in Reception and the percentage of children who are overweight or living with obesity is higher in Year 6.

Infographic of NCMP Findings

Recent trends suggest most measures relating to weight are relatively stable across Wakefield apart from the percentage of children with a healthy weight in Year 6 is decreasing (getting worse) and percentage of children living with obesity in Year 6 is increasing (getting worse).

Figures nationally and locally have been recently affected by the Covid pandemic where the percentage of children living with overweight and obesity increased due to several factors relating to the pandemic including children spending more time at home, closure of children’s activities and sports and disruption to the NCMP itself in some regions, though the measurement programme in Wakefield was not badly affected. Recent results suggest that weight measurements in Reception have returned to pre-pandemic levels but levels of overweight and obesity in Year 6 are still slightly higher than those seen in 2019/20. Childhood obesity can continue into adulthood (see Wakefield JSNA page describing adult obesity in the District here ). Obesity is associated with increased risk for a number of health conditions in both childhood and into adulthood including asthma, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, depression and some types of cancer (Jebeile, 2022). Research has suggested if the cohort of children in year 6 during the Covid pandemic continues to have higher levels of excess weight it could nationally cost up to £800 million pounds due to the cost of healthcare (Ochoa-Moreno, 2024)

A national report explored the relationship between an individual child’s weight measurement in Reception (2013-2014) and the later in Year 6 (2019-2020) [1]. A similar analysis was carried out for Wakefield but combining four years of data for children in Reception in 2013/14 – 2016/17 and Year 6 in 2019/20 – 2022/23. Due to these data tracking individual children the clinical cutoffs for weight categories were used as were used in the national report (these are different to the population cutoffs normally reported for the NCMP data-sets and lead to slightly less children being categorised as overweight or obese):

• Most children who were a healthy weight in Reception (84.9% of all), 73.6% stayed a healthy weight in Year 6.
• Of those who were a healthy weight in Reception, 25.2% were overweight or obese in Year 6.
• Of those who were overweight in Reception (8.9% of all), 26.6% were overweight and 45.3% were living with obesity and 27.8% were a healthy weight by Year 6.
• Of those who were living with obesity in Reception (5.3% of all), 83.0% were still living with obesity in Year 6, 11.9% were overweight and 5.9% were a healthy weight.

These trends were similar to those found in the national analysis.

In Reception girls were more likely to be overweight or living with obesity than boys (girls: 24.9%, boys: 22.1%), but boys were more likely to be than girls in Year 6 (girls: 36.9%, boys:40.3%).
Deprivation was measured for the area each child lived in using the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), this was then split into quintiles (5 equal sized groups). In reception levels of overweight and living with obesity were similar across the deprivation quintiles but by Year 6 children from areas in the most deprived quintile of Wakefield District were more likely to be overweight or obese and those in the least deprived were less likely (most deprived: 44.5%, least deprived: 29.6%, District average: 38.7%).
In reception children of Asian or Asian British ethnicity were less likely to be overweight or living with obesity (Asian or Asian British: 10.6%, District average: 23.5%), in Year 6 percentages were similar across all ethnic groups.

Three year averages for the percentage of children in each weight category were calculated for the 27 neighbourhoods of Wakefield and variation was seen across the District (see interactive map in the dashboard for a more detailed breakdown).

• A higher percentage of girls (71.9%) who were a healthy weight in reception remained a healthy weight in Year 6 compared to boys (66.6%).
• A higher percentage of girls (83.1%) living with obesity in Reception were living with obesity in Year 6 compared to boys (80.9%).
• Children with Black or Black British ethnicity (61.1%) who were a healthy weight in reception were less likely to be a healthy weight in Year 6 compared to children of White – British ethnicity (69.6%).
• A higher percentage of those children with a mixed ethnicity (94.7%) living with obesity in Reception were living with obesity in Year 6 compared to those of White British ethnicity (76.9%), though numbers were small in this group.
• Children in the most deprived quintile (66.5%) who were a healthy weight in Reception were less likely to be a healthy weight in Year 6 than those in the least deprived quintile (74.6%).
• A higher percentage of those in the most deprived quintile living with obesity in Reception were living with obesity in Year 6 (85.7%) compared to the least deprived quintile (74.6%).