Highest rates of obesity in Lewisham and Southwark, official figures show

 
Disability: The judgment was called a 'can of worms' by opponents
Alexandra Rucki29 October 2014

Official statistics show Lewisham and Southwark to be the worst boroughs in London for obesity.

The two south east London boroughs have the highest numbers of obesity-related NHS hospital admissions compared to the rest of London, according to figures published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC).

They were listed in the top 10 areas in Britain for obesity-related consultations.

Figures show there were 66 obesity related consultations in each borough, per 100,000 residents.

Lambeth came next in the table with 62 cases, followed by Bexley with 55 and Greenwich with 42 – measured per 100,000 residents.

In contrast Richmond and Twickenham was found to be the healthiest borough in London, with only 11 obesity-related consultations for the past year.

Tam Fry, spokesperson for National Obesity Forum and chairman of the Child Growth Foundation, said: “These are just two of the many boroughs in London that have got high a high obesity rate. What is needed is for the Darzi commission (chairman of London Health Commision) on London’s health to get cracking.

“Both childhood and adult obesity in the capital is at a point causing the breakdown of health in London. So the urgency we do something about it is vital.”

Councillor Barrie Hargrove, cabinet member for public health at Southwark Council, said they have introduced a number of initiatives to tackle obesity in the borough.

He said: "The best way to be proactive is prevention, and nationally we have already led the way with universal free healthy school meals for primary school children in the borough, to help get children into healthy eating habits from an early age.

"We are also currently looking at how we can extend the offer to a free fruit snack at break-times, and already do lots of work with our young people on community sport opportunities such as running local athletics clubs and sessions at our national standard BMX track.

"Building on this work with children, we are looking at how we can get adults and whole families more involved in considering their health and most importantly making it easier for people to be active and healthier. This is why we have pledged to introduce free gym and swimming to all residents in Southwark, and are looking to roll that out starting with pilot programmes as soon as next spring."

The north-east of England was found to have the highest number of hospital cases for obesity.

The figures were made publicly available on the HSCIC website following the publication of a report in February.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT