New data raises fresh concerns over childhood obesity in Dorset and Poole

New reports from Public Health England have raised concerns once more over childhood obesity in Dorset.

Wimborne was found to have the highest number of obese children across the whole of Dorset with around 18.2 per cent of children in year 6 found to be over the healthy weight body mass index.

This figure has risen over the last year with only 13.5 per cent of children found to be overweight in the entirety of Dorset in 2016.

These new concerns tie in with the recent sugar reduction schemes in the county such as the sugar tax set to arrive in 2018 and the Coca-Cola truck protests in Bournemouth town centre which aimed to tackle the excessive marketing of sugary drinks to children at Christmas.

Sustain Bournemouth manager, Sarah Watson, said: “It’s shocking and really awful. It’s 2017 and people should be able to access a healthy diet but it’s such a complex issue”.

“There’s issues with access to healthy food. Generally the more deprived the area the less access there is to healthy, fresh food and many people have never had a chance to cook which is not just a poverty thing, many people just don’t know how to cook from fresh any more”

Sustain Bournemouth are an organisation which aim to promote both a healthy diet and renewable food sources – they recently teamed up with celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver’s, SugarSmart campaign to tackle Coca-Cola’s marketing and promotions in Bournemouth.

More detailed information on the PHE x NCMP data can be found in the info-graphic below.