Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of children under five years old who are obese.

The National Child Measurement Programme measures the heights and weights of children in Reception (four to five-year olds) in England.

The data for the 2018/19 school year showed that 9.7% (57,869) of children in Reception were obese. This is based on 95% (597,812) of children in Reception eligible for measurement. These data are available to view at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/national-child-measurement-programme/2018-19-school-year

The Health Survey for England measures the height and weight of a small sample of children annually. The latest available report, from the 2017 survey, shows that 10% of two to four-year-olds surveyed were obese. This is based on measurements taken from 536 children. These are available to view at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/health-survey-for-england/2017

No data is collected centrally for children below the age of two.