Jersey Child Measurement Report 2017 to 2018
Produced by the
Public Health (Strategic Policy, Planning and Performance)
Authored by
Statistics Jersey
and published on
29 Nov 2018
Prepared internally, no external cost
Summary
This report presents information on the levels of obesity in children in Jersey in academic year 2017/18. The heights and weights of children in Reception (Year R: 4 – 5 year olds) and Year 6 (10 - 11 year olds) are measured annually through the Jersey Child Measurement Programme (JCMP).
Body Mass Index (BMI) can be calculated for each pupil from their height and weight measurements, and individuals are categorised into ‘underweight’, ‘healthy weight’, ‘overweight’ and ‘obese’ categories
In academic year 2017/18:
- one in five Year R children (20%), and around one in three children in Year 6 (32%) were overweight or obese
- a higher proportion of boys (24%) than girls (16%) were categorised as overweight or obese in Year R; the proportion of boys who were overweight or obese in Year 6 was similar to that for girls
- the proportion of Year R children classified as overweight or obese has remained at around 20% since 2010-2012, and has continued to be lower than the 29% seen in 2000-2002
- the prevalence of obesity in Year 6 has remained unchanged since 2011-2012
- most children (84%) who were a healthy weight six years previously remained a healthy weight at Year 6 (84%); one in ten (11%) of this healthy weight group had become overweight, and one in twenty (5%) had become obese
- three in ten (30%) children who were overweight six years previously were measured as still overweight; a similar proportion (32%) of this group had become obese or severely obese over the previous six years, and around four in ten (38%) had returned to a healthy weight
- over three in four children (77%) who were obese or severely obese six years previously remained obese or severely obese in Year 6
- children in Year 6 living in rural areas were less likely to be obese than those living in suburban or urban areas
- 35% of children who attended non-fee paying schools in Year 6 were overweight or obese compared to 24% of those who attended fee-paying schools
- the proportion of children in Year R categorised as obese was similar in Jersey (9%) compared to England (10%)
Jersey Child Measurement Report Programme 2017 - 2018
gov.je