One in five P1 pupils classed as overweight

MORE than one in five primary one children in Scotland is overweight with almost one in ten classed as obese, newly released figures have revealed.

Childhood obesity levels at primary one remained largely unchanged during 2010-11, with 21.4 per cent of children overweight, including 9.6 per cent who were obese and 5.5 per cent classed as severely obese.

The figures come despite a pledge from the Scottish Government to boost participation in school sports and exercise to tackle the “major problem” of childhood obesity.

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Scottish Conservative education spokeswoman Liz Smith described the official figures, which used the Body Mass Index to measure obesity in 74 per cent of Scotland’s primary one children, as “extremely worrying”.

Ms Smith went on to attack the SNP government over what she claimed was the party’s failure to deliver a pledge that every primary school pupil should have at least two hours of PE a week

She said: “It is extremely worrying that the trend of rising obesity amongst children across Scotland is continuing.

“As politicians, we all have a responsibility to take this matter very seriously, and I hope the Scottish Government will accept that, so far, not nearly enough has been done to ensure that all young people are able to get the benefits of healthy exercise.

“We all know the SNP have been struggling badly to deliver their promise of two hours PE per week per pupil.

“There is an urgent priority here and whilst there will undoubtedly be some additional focus to be gained from both the Olympic and Commonwealth Games, we cannot waste any more time.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokeswoman Alison McInnes attacked the Scottish Government’s record on childhood obesity as “deplorable”.

She said: “Many school children still do not receive the promised two hours of PE a week pledged to them by SNP in 2007.”

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However, a Scottish Government spokeswoman said an “anti-obesity action plan” had been introduced..

She said: “Obesity is a serious issue for Scotland. That’s why we have introduced our anti-obesity action plan, a whole society approach aimed at changing the environment in which we live to make it easier for everyone to make healthy choices, including eating more fruit and vegetables and becoming more active.”