National Childhood Obesity week

Published 02/07/2013   |   Last Updated 27/05/2021   |   Reading Time minutes

This week is National Childhood Obesity week. The importance of the obesity agenda cannot be underestimated. Wales has the highest childhood obesity rates in the UK. The most recent statistics – from the Welsh Health Survey 2012 – show that in 2011, more than a third of children (35 per cent) are overweight or obese: 16 per cent are overweight and 19 per cent are obese.

The first time data on childhood obesity rates was included in the Welsh Health Survey was in 2007. The statistics for 2007 were very similar to 2011, with 36 per cent of children being overweight or obese, including 20 per cent obese. Therefore obesity statistics demonstrate that the number of overweight or obese children has not changed much over the five-year period. The Welsh Government’s All Wales Obesity Pathway document was published in 2010. Page 14 lists all the Welsh Government national policies, programmes and services relevant to the obesity agenda. The Research Service has also published the following Quick Guide to ‘Childhood Obesity in Wales’.


Article by Sarah Hatherley, National Assembly for Wales Research Service.