Obesity and poverty hit London children

Obesity rates among children are higher than the national average in 30 out of 32 London boroughs.

Westminster has the most severely overweight 10- and 11-year-olds, with almost a third classed as obese, closely followed by Southwark and Newham, with over a quarter.

Only in Richmond and Bromley is the childhood obesity rate lower than the national average of 19 per cent.

The data, from the Public Health Observatories, also revealed more children are living in poverty in the capital than in the rest of the country.
Fifty-seven per cent of children in Tower Hamlets are growing up in deprived conditions - defined as being when their families receive means-tested benefits - while the average rate found across England is 20 per cent.

Only in six boroughs - Richmond,
Kingston, Bromley, Bexley, Sutton and Havering - is the rate below the national average.

Overall, for both adults and children, Hackney has the highest rates of deprivation than anywhere else in London. Researchers say the overall health of people in Tower Hamlets and Barking and Dagenham is generally worse than in the rest of the country.

Most boroughs have more new cases of tuberculosis than the English average, which is 15 per 100,000 people. Only Bexley, Bromley, Havering and Richmond have fewer than average.

Public health minister Anne Milton said publishing the health profiles had helped to identify where challenges lie. She added: "Reducing health inequalities is a government priority."