The data highlights the strong relationship between deprivation and health. Children growing up in disadvantaged communities continue to experience significantly worse health outcomes, underlining that healthy growth is shaped not only by individual choices, but also by the environments in which children live, learn and eat.
Among children in Reception, 14.2% of those living in the most deprived areas were living with obesity, compared with 6.9% in the least deprived areas. By Year 6, the gap widens further, with obesity affecting 30.3% of children in the most deprived communities compared with 13.9% in the least deprived. Both the overall prevalence of obesity and the disparity between areas have increased over time. At a regional and local level, variation in obesity prevalence is largely driven by persistent inequalities by ethnic group and deprivation. 1 in 3 children in England now leave primary school living with overweight or obesity.
Schools are one of the few places that can reach almost every child, every day. Through our work with schools across the country, we’ve seen how access to nutritious school meals, high-quality food education and a positive whole-school food culture can help children develop healthier eating habits and more positive relationships with food, supporting their health, wellbeing and readiness to learn.
The findings arrive at a significant moment for school food policy. More children are now entitled to free school meals following the expansion to all children in households receiving Universal Credit in September 2026, and new school food standards are due to come into force from 2027.
These policy reforms present a significant opportunity to improve children’s diets and reduce health inequalities. If accompanied by effective monitoring and investment in implementation, these policies have the potential to ensure more children benefit from nutritious school meals every day. The new standards are being introduced alongside a national compliance and monitoring framework for the first time, helping address long-standing variation in children's experience of school food across England. Ensuring standards are both ambitious and consistently implemented will be critical if school food is to play its full role in improving children's health and narrowing inequalities.
The widening gap in health outcomes between children growing up in the most and least deprived communities shows that improving children’s health cannot rely on individual behaviour alone. The National Child Measurement Programme findings serve as a reminder that school food policy is health policy. Ensuring every child has access to nutritious food at school must be a central part of the government's efforts to give all children the best possible start in life.
Read the full National Child Measurement Programme report here.
