Worrying levels of childhood obesity in Newcastle must be reduced, city health chiefs have warned.
Newcastle has the highest levels of obesity among North East primary school children – with around 28% of reception-age pupils and 42% of those in year six classed as either overweight or obese.
City councillors were told on Thursday that those stark figures are “considerably higher” than the national averages, as a public health boss issued a rallying cry for a new drive to dramatically improve Geordies’ diet and exercise patterns.
Dr Tony Hill, Newcastle City Council’s interim director of public health, has called for a major push to tackle the vast inequalities between different parts of Tyneside that worsen weight issues in areas suffering from high rates of poverty.
According to a report presented to the authority’s health scrutiny committee, 47% of primary school children in the deprived Walker ward are overweight or obese – compared to just 18.9% in the wealthier North Jesmond just a few miles away.
If the population of Newcastle were represented by 100 people, 53 would be overweight or obese adults – and of the eight primary school children, three would be overweight.
Dr Hill has urged the council and other city organisations to adopt a “whole system” approach to combating the dual issues of poor diet and a lack of physical activity – for example, by tackling the high concentration of takeaways in areas of high deprivation.
He told the committee that the campaign must not be about blaming individuals – particularly poorer families who rely on cheaper, and often more unhealthy, food to stay within their household budget – but should develop means of removing the barriers they face to a healthier lifestyle.
Dr Hill said: “How much we weigh does have a big impact on our health overall – heart disease, strokes, cancers, musculoskeletal problems. It is a big problem in Newcastle in particular, we have high levels of overweight and obese individuals compared to other places around here but also to similar cities elsewhere in the country.”
Karen Kilgour, the council’s deputy leader, said she hoped to see a gradual improvement over the decades if the council could find ways to give families access to cheap and healthy food, create safer neighbourhoods where people can exercise without having to pay for a gym membership and increase the number of people in work.
The Labour councillor added: “If you can buy ready meals that are high in salt and fat for £1 for a family of five, then of course you are going to do that because you have to manage the family budget. None of this is about stigmatising people or blaming people, it is about making sure the environment is right for those people to thrive.”
After smoking, a poor-quality diet is the second highest cause of ill health in Newcastle – and 64% of adults in the city are classified as overweight.
A 2017 study showed that Newcastle had among the highest rates of hot food takeaways in England, and data shows that the total number has since increased from 408 to 483.
Fewer than four in 10 Newcastle children and young people aged five to 18 meet the UK Chief Medical Officers’ physical activity guidelines, with particular concern over “stark” gaps showing that far fewer girls than boys say they enjoy exercise as children get older.
Asked if he thought that obesity problems could realistically be addressed given they have been a constant in Newcastle for decades, Dr Hill likened the situation to the decline in smoking.
He said: “If you take smoking, people do know that smoking is bad for their health and they should be doing something about it – even the people who smoke a lot and defend their right to do so still say it would be better if they didn’t smoke.
“I have been around in public health for a long time and when I started as a public health consultant something like 35 years ago, I think people would have said the same as you have there about smoking – that it was an intractable problem that we can’t do anything about.
“It has taken a long time but we have seen a really significant change in people’s smoking habits. I don’t expect that in the short time I am interim director in Newcastle I am going to see a decrease in the number of people overweight or obese – but if we don’t try then we have neglected our responsibility to try and do something about it.”
