Year 11 Revision

Obesity

The proportion of adults with a normal Body Mass Index (BMI) decreased between 1993 and 2012 from 41.0% to 32.1% among men and from 49.5% to 40.6% among women.
There was a marked increase in the proportion of adults that were obese between 1993 and 2012 from 13.2% to 24.4% among men and from 16.4% to 25.1% among women.
The proportion of adults that were overweight including obese increased between 1993 and 2012 from 57.6% to 66.6% among men and from 48.6% to 57.2% among women.
The proportion of adults with a raised waist circumference increased from 20% to 34% among men and from 26% to 45% among women between 1993 and 2012.
In Reception class in 2012/13, the proportion of obese children (9.3%) was lower than in 2011/12 (9.5%) and also lower than in 2006/07 (9.9%) (when data was first published).
In Year 6 in 2012/13, the proportion of obese children (18.9%) was lower than in 2011/12 (19.2%) but higher than in 2006/07 (17.5%).

Physical activity

In 2012:

67% of men and 55% of women aged 16 and over met the new recommendations for aerobic activity. 26% of women and 19% of men were classed as inactive.
46% of men and 37% of women reported walking of at least moderate intensity for 10 minutes or more on at least one day in the last four weeks.
52% of men and 45% of women had taken part in sports/exercise at least once during the past four weeks.

The key findings are:

Around a fifth (19%) of children aged 2 to 15 were classified as obese
Around a third (34%) of children aged 2 to 15 were classified as overweight including obese,
There was little difference between the levels of those classified as overweight or obese in boys and girls.

Physical Activity and Obesity

In 2012, 67% of men and 55% of women aged 16 and over met the recommendations for aerobic activity. 26% of women and 19% of men were classed as inactive.
For both sexes the proportion meeting the aerobic activity guidelines generally decreased with age.
The proportion of participants meeting the current UK guidelines for aerobic activity increased as equivalised household income increased. 76% of men and 63% of women in the highest income quintile met the new guidelines, falling to 55% of men and 47% of women in the lowest quintile.
There was a clear association between meeting the guidelines for aerobic activity and body mass index (BMI) category. 75% of men who were not overweight or obese met the guidelines, compared with 71% of overweight men and 59% of obese men. The equivalent figures for women were 64%, 58% and 48%, respectively.

Tuesday 20 May 2014