Child obesity: Specialist clinic opens in Leeds

Each child would be offered an individually tailored weight loss plan, according to Leeds Children's Hospital

A specialist clinic has opened in Leeds to help children with severe obesity.

The service, run by Leeds Children's Hospital, offers support from physios, psychologists, dieticians and doctors.

Figures published by NHS Digital last year showed about one in seven children aged four and five in England are obese.

Paediatric endocrinologist Dr Caroline Steele said the clinic would address "all the different factors which influence weight".

Paediatric Endocrinologist Dr Caroline Steele said the clinic would offer an holistic approach to health and weight loss

Dr Steele said rates of obesity were rising and the issue was "not quick and easy to fix".

She added the clinic, which is one of 21 funded by NHS England, would "not just concentrate on the traditional method of eat less and do more".

Seven-year-old Lilly, from York, was one of the first children to be helped by the new clinic.

Emily from York said she had feared her daughter Lilly might become immobile without the clinic

Her mum Emily said Lilly had previously said she "wished she could cut her tummy off".

"I just want her to be able to do things other seven-year-olds do and not be unhealthy," she said.

A spokesperson for Leeds Children's Hospital said the service aimed to support 100 children a year across West Yorkshire who were suffering from complications from excess weight, by giving each child a tailored plan.

Lead nurse Paul Carruthers said: "We create individualised plans relating to the child, putting them at the forefront of everything.

"So if a young person comes from a single mum, living in a high-rise flat with no access to local space, we're going to give them a different plan to someone who lives in an affluent area of Leeds."

Obesity rates in reception-aged and year 6 schoolchildren have seen the highest annual rise since the National Child Measurement Programme began, according to NHS Digital

Emily said Lilly's liver was "already quite fatty" and she was scared that at some point, without the clinic's intervention, her daughter "won't be mobile".

"Everything they're doing has been brilliant so far and the support we'll get in the future is going to be great as well," she said.

"Lilly loves it at the clinic and has so much fun," she added.