Childhood obesity is a growing problem throughout the UK. An increasingly poor diet, combined with a lack of exercise and a more sedentary lifestyle make for a pretty poor trend. Children gaining weight not only affects their lives now, but also has strong negative consequences for their wellbeing in the future.
Now it seems that fears about lack of sport in primary schools are well warranted. Official figures have been released that suggest serious weight problems among pupils in reception and Year 6. The data paints a very worrying picture. There was an increase in obese children in reception from 8.6 percent between 2010 and 2011 to 9.9 percent between 2011 and 2012. For Year 6 pupils the number increased from 17.3 percent to 19.2 percent over the same period of time.
It seems that a lack of specialist PE teachers is also becoming a major concern. It has been suggested that in the UK thousands of children were unable to throw a ball, jump or even run. Children are now reaching secondary education with barely any ability to function in terms of physical exercise.
It seems that one step in the right direction would be educating the parents of the obese children. If the parents could be shown the benefit of a more active lifestyle for their children and encourage them not to pass on bad eating habits, it could improve the quality of their lives. Of course convenience food, which is often high in sugar and fat, can be a major issue.
It has been suggested that primary school teachers have been too focussed on the academic achievement of the children in their schools. Because of this they have neglected the physical aspect of their wellness. With children as young as four becoming obese, a change is important to protect children from any further rises in obesity.