Over a third of children who are in year six in the area were classed as obese in 2023/24, which is more than any other local authority reported in the country.
The data from the Government’s national child measurement programme, which covers mainstream state schools in England, also revealed several other areas in the West Midlands had some of the highest levels of obesity among year six pupils.
Wolverhampton reported the third highest number in England, with 29.7% of children in year six being classed as obese, with nearby Walsall coming in tenth, with a reported obesity rate amongst 10- and 11-year-olds of 27.6%.
Although Sandwell reported the highest figures for this year, the data showed that obesity among children leaving primary school in England has fallen for the third year in a row overall.
22.1% of year six pupils in England were classed as obese last year, which is down from 22.7% in 2022/23.
However, the figures are still yet to fall back below levels before the pandemic in the year 2020/21, which saw the number of children being reported as obese rising by almost 4%.
Speaking on the new data, Professor Simon Kenny, NHS England’s national clinical director for children and young people, said: “Obesity can have a major impact on a child’s life – it affects every organ in the body and is effectively a ticking health timebomb for the future by increasing a child’s risk of type 2 diabetes, cancer, mental health issues and many other illnesses.
“The NHS is committed to helping young people and families affected by extreme weight issues with tailored packages of physical, psychological and social support, including our 30 specialist weight-loss clinics spread across the country to ensure that every child can access support if they need it.
“But the NHS cannot solve this alone and continued action from industry, local and national government, and wider society together with the NHS is essential to help create a healthy nation.”
The data also established a possible link between child obesity levels and deprivation levels, with 29.2% of year six pupils being classed as obese in the most deprived areas of the country compared to 13% in the least deprived areas.
The Local Government Association said funds raised from the sugar tax on soft drinks should be used to support areas with higher levels of deprivation, child obesity and tooth decay.
However, it also acknowledged that “councils are increasingly concerned about where the money is being spent”.
David Fothergill, chairman of the LGA’s community wellbeing board, said: “The soft drinks industry levy was a crucial step in the battle against child obesity.
“We are urging the Government to grant councils control over the levy’s revenues and allocate funds to address the most pressing child health inequalities.
“It would also make more sense to target distribution of the levy to those areas that need it the most.
“With deep connections to local health services, schools and communities, councils are uniquely placed to direct resources where they are needed most, creating healthier, more resilient environments for our children.”
Dr Helen Stewart, officer for health improvement at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: “It’s impossible to ignore that poorer children are over twice as likely to be obese than their richer peers.
“This is a long-standing health inequality that successive governments have failed to tackle.
“It is clear to paediatricians that progress on childhood obesity cannot be achieved without also addressing our out-of-control rates of childhood poverty and deprivation.
“Today we are calling on our Government to publish the new child poverty strategy, with a clear focus on role of health, to expand free school meals and to finally commit to scrapping the two-child limit to benefit payments – which we know is keeping over a million children in poverty and entrenching health inequalities.”
Speaking about the findings, Sandwell Council’s Interim Director of Public Health Liann Brookes-Smith said: “We have known for some time that our children in Sandwell are not experiencing a full health promoting lifestyle, from health promoting foods to physical activity.
“Therefore, we have developed plans to address this and to reduce the number of underweight and overweight children, however it is a balance in how we do this.
“Supporting children to have a healthy view of themselves and their lifestyle not just categorising them as underweight or overweight and obese. “
