40,000 START SCHOOL OBESE

CONCERN AS HEALTH INEQUALITY GAP WIDENS

-  Keir Mudie

THE latest childhood obesity figures show almost 40,000 youngsters are overweight when they start school.

The stats, compiled by Public Health England, reveal a damning North/South divide as families in poorer areas struggle to maintain a healthier diet.

There are now 39,404 obese reception pupils in the UK, mostly in the north.

Stats show almost 15% of reception pupils in Middlesbrough are obese or severely obese and Hartlepool, Halton and Stoke follow.

In the rest of the top 20, only Greenwich in London represents the south.