PRIMARY one pupils from Scotland’s poorest areas are almost twice as likely to be at risk of obesity as those from the least deprived areas, new figures have revealed.
Official statistics show 12.9% of P1 pupils in Scotland’s most deprived areas were classed as being “at risk of obesity” in 2017-18 compared to 6.5% in the country’s wealthiest areas.
The report found that since 2002-03 the proportion of children at risk of being overweight or obese has increased in the most deprived areas but decreased in the least deprived places, resulting in the “current high levels of inequality”.
It said there are now “substantial inequalities in child unhealthy weight across Scotland”.
The study found 2.3% of children were classed as at risk of being overweight and 10.1% were at risk of obesity while 1.1% of P1s were at risk of being underweight.
Boys were found to be slightly less likely than girls to be of a healthy weight.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We’re aiming to half childhood obesity by 2030 through a range of measures designed to help people make healthier choices, including proposals to restrict in-store promotions and marketing of food that is high in fat, sugar or salt but with little or no nutritional benefit.
He added: “Already, children in two-thirds of Scottish primary schools take part in the Daily Mile and 99% of schools are delivering at least two hours of PE every week.”
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