THE proportion of children in Jersey classed as overweight or obese is “consistently” higher than in Guernsey, according to a newly published Sarnian report.
Guernsey’s latest Child Measurement Programme document included analysis of the heights and weights of pupils in school Years 1 and 5, recorded annually during the spring term.
Of the children measured in Year 1, around one in three had “unhealthy levels of excess weight” (10.6% overweight and 10.6% with obesity), with the figures rising to 12.8% and 16.9% respectively for Year 5.
Meanwhile, the latest Jersey Child Measurement Programme – which looked at reception and Year 6 – marked 13% of measured children in the former group as overweight, 8% as obese and 3% as severely obese. For Year 6, the figures stood at 14%, 13% and 3% respectively.
Pointing to differences in analysis, including the year groups measured, Guernsey’s report acknowledged that “exact like-for-like comparisons cannot be drawn” between the islands.
However, it also referenced data from the last ten years and stated that: “The proportion of children in Guernsey with overweight or obesity is consistently and notably below Jersey and England despite the Guernsey children measured being older.”
The Jersey report noted that “children grow and develop rapidly in their early years, and even small differences in age can significantly influence their measurements”.
It also highlighted that the proportion of reception children classified as overweight or obese has decreased from around 29% in the early 2000s to 24% in recent years and, for Year 6, had “remained stable” over the past decade at around 31%.
