The North West borough where obesity is the 'norm' - health officer

Reasons for obesity were "complex", a public health officer said

Obesity has become the "norm' in part of the north west of England, a borough's public health officer has said.

Worrying statistics suggested children in Knowsley, Merseyside, had the highest rates of obesity in England and 75% of adults were overweight or obese.

Public health officer Esther Hindley said being overweight or obese "will be the norm" in some schools.

A council spokesman said tackling food-related ill health was "a priority".

The health of people in Knowsley was laid bare at a council meeting on Tuesday when a report was presented by the Health and Wellbeing Board.

It said 20.5% children who were a healthy weight when they started reception were obese by the time they got to Year 6.

For those children who started school obese, 78% of those remained obese in Year 6.

Knowsley Council announced in January it would restrict unhealthy food advertising

Ms Hindley said in some schools being overweight or obese "will be the norm".

Additionally, three in four adults in Knowsley are overweight or obese.

Diet-related health was complex and included behavioural, environmental, social and economic factors, Ms Hindley added.

In January, Knowsley Council announced it would restrict adverts for unhealthy food on sites it owns.

According to NHS health advice, obesity can have a seriously detrimental impact on physical and mental health and can even shorten a person's life expectancy.

Director of Public Health at Knowsley Council, Dr Sarah McNulty, said: "It is a poverty issue. It is a deprivation issue and we need to acknowledge that when we're doing the work.

"We really have to push the prevention agenda."

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children's Services, Councillor Margaret Harvey said the findings were "really quite stark" and improvement "must start now".

A spokesman for Knowsley Council said the authority was working with partners across the borough to develop a new Healthy Weight Partnership Strategy.

"We need to improve children's health in Knowsley and therefore tackling food-related ill health for our younger population is a priority for the council.

"The council and partners have already achieved a number of successes through the Healthy Weight Plan for Knowsley 2019-2024 Action Plan, including improved uptake of Healthy Start Vouchers, development of a healthier advertising policy and the adoption of the HENRY programme in Early Years."