CHILDREN in Swindon are among the fattest in the South West, new figures show.

They reveal that a fifth of Year 6 children in Swindon are obese.

The statistics come from the national child measurement programme, which tracks the weight of children when they are in reception and again at Year 6, when they are aged 10-11.

In Swindon, childhood obesity appears to be on the rise.

In 2015/16, 8.5 per cent of reception-aged children were found to be obese – compared to 9.7 per cent last year.

Among 10 and 11-year-olds, obesity is also on the up. Swindon saw the highest rise in obesity levels of anywhere in the South West, with the proportion of children deemed to be obese jumping from 17.3 per cent in 2015/16 to 20.6 per cent last year.

Public Health England, the government quango that collects the data, warned that the number of obese children in England’s most deprived areas is more than double that in the least deprived.

They said that children who are overweight or obese are more likely to face bullying, problems with tooth decay and suffer poor self-esteem.

Swindon Borough Council said that tackling obesity was a "top priority".

Cherry Jones, the council's director of public health, said: “Although Swindon appears not to have come out well when compared to the rest of the South West in these latest national figures from Public Health England we need to be mindful that the demographics of the town are considerably different to many other places.

“However, tackling childhood obesity is a top priority in Swindon and we have a Healthy Weight strategy that recognises it is an issue that needs to be tackled in all areas of a child’s life, through work with parents, schools, health and other partners.”

The council said they welcomed government moves to cut sugar in products. These complemented local initiatives like family weight management schemes, the healthy schools programme and a plan to boost physical activity in schools.

Cherry Jones added: “Tackling obesity is not easy and everyone has a role to play in ensuring that children have the best start they can, and supporting children to be a healthy weight and physically active is everyone’s responsibility.”

Eustace De Sousa, national lead for children, young people and families at Public Health England, said: “A healthy weight in childhood lays the foundations for decades of healthy life as an adult. This data underlines how important it is for families to talk about health and weight as part of everyday life.”

Candida Hutchinson, headteacher at Old Town’s Croft Primary School, said that she tried to encourage her pupils to be active wherever possible.

“If you are going to talk to children about healthy weight it needs to start young,” she said.

Among the schemes pushed by the school are walk to school days, after-school clubs and an annual “Everyone Can” week, where children get the chance to try a different sport each day.

A new project with Paul Ashman Cycles will see all 60 children in the school’s Year 1 children get lessons on cycle maintenance and safety, Candida said.