2015/16 NCMP Summary Report
November 2016
Childhood Obesity in Halton
National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP)
Report 2015/16 – Published data
Summary of results (all Halton schools)
Percent with excess weight (overweight and obese combined)
Reception
26.9%
Year 6
37.9%
Profile Author: Jennifer Oultram - Public Health Intelligence Officer
Public Health Intelligence Team
[email protected]
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2015/16 NCMP Summary Report
November 2016
NCMP Summary of Results for Halton
2015/16 Published Data
Please note that the data below states whether the data was derived from the postcode of
the school or derived from the postcode of the child’s residence.
School = derived from the school postcode
Resident = derived from child’s residential postcode
Participation
% Participation
Halton
Reception
2014/15
Target
Year 6
2014/15
Target
96.2%
85%
93.1%
85%
Reception
2015/16
Change from
2014/15
Year 6
2015/16
Change from
2014/15
0.5%
0.5%
 0.7%
 0.7%
0.4%
0.5%
 1.4%
 1.6%
Reception
2015/16
Change from
2014/15
Year 6
2015/16
Change from
2014/15
14.3%
14.2%
 13.7%
 13.7%
15.0%
15.2%
 15.5%
 16.0%
Reception
2015/16
Change from
2014/15
Year 6
2015/16
Change from
2014/15
12.6%
12.2%
 11.2%
 11.0%
22.8%
22.8%
 20.7%
 20.7%
Underweight
% Underweight
Halton (school)
Halton (resident)
Overweight
% Overweight
Halton (school)
Halton (resident)
Obese
% Obese
Halton (school)
Halton (resident)
Excess Weight (overweight & obese)
% Overweight &
Obese
Halton (school)
Halton (resident)
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Reception
2015/16
Change from
2014/15
Year 6
2015/16
Change from
2014/15
26.9%
26.4%
 24.9%
 24.7%
37.9%
38.0%
 36.2%
 36.6%
2015/16 NCMP Summary Report
November 2016
Halton Childhood Obesity Summary
Academic Year 2015/16
Obesity is a condition where weight gain has got to the point that it poses a serious
threat to health. It is measured in terms of a person’s body mass index (BMI, see box 1)
which is determined both by weight and height. BMI cut-off points have been agreed for
obese and overweight adults, but for children the situation is more complex. As a child’s
BMI varies with age, different cut-off points have to be used to define overweight and
obese children depending on age.1
Box 1: Information on BMI ranges
ADULTS
For adults, the cut off points used are: BMI <20, a person is
underweight; BMI 20-25 is the desirable or healthy range; BMI 25-30 is classified as
overweight; and BMI 30+ is classified as obese.
CHILDREN
Researchers have used different ways of defining obesity in children. An International
Obesity Task Force proposed cut-offs for children at various ages in 2000.
Other researchers have used a different approach by selecting a BMI reference point
from the past, and comparing the proportion of the population exceeding the threshold
now with that in the past. A commonly used reference point for obesity is the BMI
threshold above which the top 5% of the BMI range lay in 1990.
During 2015/16, the heights and weights of Halton school children in Reception year
(aged 4 and 5) and Year 6 (aged 10 and 11) were measured and collated. These have
since been uploaded anonymously into the National Child Measurement Programme
database, where they will be recorded and analysed, and due for release in November
2016. The data in this report is based on the same information and is meant as a
prelude to the release of the official figures.
Notes on the Data:



1
Data at lower geographical levels should be treated with caution as small
numbers can lead to rates that are not statistically robust.
Not all children participated due to absence and/or lack of consent.
Numbers in analyses may vary as some calculations are based on the school data
and others on the child’s residence.
Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, “Post note: Childhood Obesity”, SEPTEMBER 2003 (205)
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2015/16 NCMP Summary Report
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All the charts below are based on data from the postcode of the school.
Comparison of Participation
The following charts compare the participation percentage of children in reception and
year 6 with the England and North West average, as well as the other local authorities
within the Merseyside cluster.
Halton exceeded 85% participation target set by the Department of Health for both
Reception and Year 6.
Figure 1: Comparison of participation percentage for reception year children,
2015/16
The percentage
of eligible
children who
were weighed
and measured in
Reception year
children in
Halton was
slightly higher
than the
England
average, and
similar to the
North West
average.
Halton also achieved the third highest percentage in Merseyside, after Knowsley and
Sefton.
Figure 2: Comparison of participation percentage for year 6 children, 2015/16
The percentage
of Year 6
children
measured in
Halton during
2015/16 was
slightly lower
than the North
West and
England
averages.
*St Helens were unable to submit around 10% of their Year 6 records due to issues
experienced by the organisation contracted to complete the measurements on their behalf.
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2015/16 NCMP Summary Report
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Comparison of Underweight, Overweight, Obese, Excess Weight &
Healthy Weight
The following charts show the differences in the percentage of underweight, healthy
weight, overweight, obese and excess weight in Reception and Year 6 children,
compared with the England and North West average, as well as the other local
authorities within the Merseyside cluster.
St Helens were unable to submit around 10% of their Year 6 records due to issues
experienced by the organisation contracted to complete the measurements on their behalf,
therefore, care must be taken when comparing to the St Helens percentages.
Figure 3: Comparison of percentage of underweight children in reception and year
6, 2015/16
The
percentage
of
underweight
Reception
children in
Halton was
lower than
the England
and North
West
averages, but
not
significantly
different.
However, the Year 6 underweight percentage for Halton was significantly lower than the
national and regional averages. The Halton percentages for both years were the lowest
in Merseyside.
Figure 4: Comparison of percentage of overweight children in reception and year 6,
2015/16
Neither the
Reception
nor Year 6
overweight
percentages
for Halton
were
statistically
significantly
higher than
the North
West or
England
averages.
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2015/16 NCMP Summary Report
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The Reception overweight percentage was the 2nd lowest in Merseyside, and the Year 6
percentage was the lowest.
Figure 5: Comparison of percentage of obese children in reception and year 6,
2015/16
The Halton
Reception
obese
percentage
for 2015/16
was
significantly
higher than
the England
and North
West
averages.
The Year 6 percentage was also significantly higher than the England average, but not
the North West.
The Halton Reception percentage was the 2nd highest in Merseyside and the Year 6
percentage was the 2nd lowest.
Figure 6: Comparison of percentage of children with excess weight (overweight and
obese) in reception and year 6, 2015/16
During
2015/16,
Halton had a
significantly
higher
percentage
of Reception
children
with excess
weight
compared to
England and
the North
West.
There was also a significantly higher number in year 6 in Halton with excess weight
compared to England.
However, the Halton percentages for reception and year 6 weren’t the highest in
Merseyside.
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Figure 7: Comparison of percentage of children who are a healthy weight in
reception and year 6, 2015/16
During
2014/15,
Halton had a
significantly
lower
number of
healthy
weight
children in
Reception
and Year 6
compared to
England.
The Halton Reception percentage was also significantly lower than the North West
average. Despite this, the Halton figures weren’t the worst in Merseyside.
Change in Percentage
Figure 8: Percentage change in overweight and obese, for both school years,
2014/15 to 2015/16
Between 2014/15 and 2015/16, the percentage of overweight and obese children in
Reception increased, as did the Year obese percentage.
However, the percentage of overweight children in Year 6 did decrease.
Table 1 also shows the change in the percentages between 2014/15 and 2015/16.
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2015/16 NCMP Summary Report
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Table 1: Change in percentage in overweight and obesity levels, in reception and
Year 6, 2014/15 to 2015/16
Reception
Overweight
Obese
Excess weight
2014/15
13.7%
11.2%
24.9%
2015/16
14.3%
12.6%
26.9%
change in %
+0.6%
+1.4%
+2.0%
15.5%
20.7%
36.2%
15.0%
22.8%
37.9%
-0.5%
+2.1%
+1.7%
Year 6
Overweight
Obese
Excess weight
The 2011/12 figures haven’t been included in the two charts below due to an issue
with the height measurement equipment used to measure Widnes school children.
Figure 9: Change in percentage of children who are overweight or obese in Halton,
compared to England, 2006/07 to 2015/16
The Halton reception percentages both increased for the overweight and obese
categories during 2015/16, which means that the percentages remain higher than the
England values, and the gap has widened.
The year 6 overweight percentage for Halton decreased in 2015/16, which means the
gap with the England average has narrowed. The year 6 obese percentage increased for
Halton during 2015/16, and remains higher than the national average. This means that
the gap has also widened.
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2015/16 NCMP Summary Report
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Figure 10: Change in percentage of children with excess weight (overweight &
obese) in Halton, compared to England, 2006/07 to 2015/16
During 2015/16, the percentage of Reception children with excess weight increased
from 2014/15, and, despite the increase in the England percentage, the Halton value
remains significantly higher.
The percentage of Year 6 children with excess weight also increased in 2015/16, and was
the highest percentage since the NCMP started in 2006/07. Despite the England
percentage also increasing, the Halton percentage remains significantly worse. The gap
between the two has also widened.
Obesity Levels
BMI scores, and the corresponding p-values, were calculated for each child. The 85th
and 95th centile cut-offs were used to establish the child’s weight category. In other
words, out of that given population, any child with a p-score above the 85th centile (and
below than 95th) will have been categorised as overweight and over the 95th centile,
obese. Excess weight (overweight & obese) is therefore any child with a BMI p-score
above the 85th percentile. Children with p-values under the 85th centile were considered
to have a healthy weight, and children under the 2nd centile were considered to be
underweight.
Table 2 shows the percentage of pupils (in Halton schools) who participated in the
heights and weights recording and indicates the level of uptake.
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2015/16 NCMP Summary Report
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Table 2: Percentage Participation
Reception
Year 6
Overall
Number
eligible
1502
1458
2960
Number
measured
1445
1357
2802
%
measured
96.2%
93.1%
94.7%
Table 3 shows the provisional percentages of overweight and obese children within
Halton. Overweight is classed as being between the 85th and <95th centile, and obese is
=>95th.
Table 3: Percentage of children overweight or obese (BMI p-scores) (school data)
Percentage of pupils with a BMI
p-score:
>=0.85 (defined as overweight)
>=0.95 (defined as obese)
Reception
Year 6
14.3%
12.6%
15.0%
22.8%
Table 4 shows the overall percentage of overweight and obese children within Halton,
the North West and England, split by male and female. There appears to be a greater
proportion of overweight and obese males in Halton compared to England and North
West, for Reception and Year 6.
There are also a higher proportion of obese girls in Halton compared to the England and
North West averages, for both school years
Table 4: Levels of overweight, obese and excess weight (overweight and obese),
split by gender (school data)
A total of 903 pupils were classed as being overweight or obese in Halton during
2015/16, accounting for 32.2% of those measured.
Figure 11 shows the change in the percentage of children with excess weight split by age
group and gender. It shows that, between 2014/15 and 2015/16, there was an increase
in the percentage of Reception and Year 6 girls and Year 6 boys with excess weight.
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2015/16 NCMP Summary Report
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Figure 11: Percentage of children with excess weight split by age and sex, 2006/07
to 2015/16 (school data)
The 2011/12 data has been excluded in figures 1, 2 & 3 due to an issue with the height
measurement equipment used to measure Widnes school children.
Figure 12 shows the change in percentage of overweight and obese children in Halton
between 2006/07 and 2015/16. In 2015/16 the percentage of obese children in both
Reception and Year 6 increased from the previous year, as did the overweight
percentage for Reception children. However, the percentage of overweight Year 6
children did decrease.
Figure 12: Percentage of overweight and obese in Halton between 2006/07 and
2015/16 (school data)
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Figure 13: Percentage of children with excess weight in Halton between 2006/07
and 2015/16 (school data)
The percentage of Reception and Year 6 children with excess weight increased between
2014/15 and 2015/16, with the Year 6 percentage being the highest since the NCMP
started in 2006/7.
Table 5: Change in percentage in overweight and obesity levels, in reception and
Year 6, 2014/15 and 2015/16 (school data)
Reception
Overweight
Obese
Excess weight
2014/15
13.7%
11.2%
24.9%
2015/16
14.3%
12.6%
26.9%
change in %
+0.6%
+1.4%
+2.0%
Year 6
Overweight
Obese
Excess weight
2014/15
15.5%
20.7%
36.2%
2015/16
15.0%
22.8%
37.9%
change in %
-0.5%
+2.1%
+1.7%
Table 5 shows that the percentages of overweight, obese and excess weight in
Reception and obese and excess weight in Year 6 increased between 2014/15 and
2015/16. However, the overweight Year 6 percentages decreased slightly.
Deprivation
The 2015 Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) provide Lower Super Output Areas
(LSOAs) in the country with a score which allows us to measure deprivation in that area.
These can then be ranked nationally or locally in order to present a picture of where
certain areas sit in comparison to others. Figure 14 shows IMD 2015 overall scores,
ranked by national quintiles. Quintile 1 (dark red) is the most deprived and Quintile 5
(dark blue) is the least deprived.
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Figure 14: Map showing deprivation levels of LSOAs in Halton according to National
Quintiles of IMD 2015
Figure 15: Percentage of children with excess weight (overweight & obese), by
National Deprivation Quintile, 2013/14 to 2015/16
The chart shows the percentage of children in Reception and Year 6 with excess
weight, split by national deprivation quintile, compared to the England average.
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National Deprivation Quintiles (NDQs) run from 1 to 5, with 1 indicating the most
deprived areas (top 20% in England) and 5 representing the least deprived. NDQs are
calculated at LSOA (lower super output area) level.
Figure 15 suggests that there is a link for both Reception and Year 6 children
between excess weight and deprivation. The highest percentages of children with
excess weight are seen in the most deprived areas. The same is seen for the England
figures.
NB: LSOAs were assigned to each child based on their residential postcode. This means that
numbers may exclude children who live outside the boundary of Halton but attend a school
within the borough. This may include St Helens, Cheshire, Liverpool, Knowsley and
Warrington.
Figure 16 shows the percentage of overweight and obese Reception and Year 6
children by National Deprivation Quintile. It suggests that higher levels of
deprivation are associated with greater proportion of obese children in both
Reception and Year 6. However, the trend in much clearer in Year 6 children, for
both Halton and England.
NB: Numbers should be interpreted with caution as the majority of LSOAs in Halton are in the
1st quintile, making the numbers for quintiles 2 to 5 small in comparison. Therefore,
subsequent percentages may be lacking in statistical soundness.
Figure 16: Percentage of overweight and obese children in each National
Deprivation Quintile split by reception and Year 6, 2013/14 to 2015/16
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Children’s Centre Reach Areas
The children’s residential postcodes were then assigned to a Children’s Centre Reach
Area. There are 8 children’s centres in Halton, figures 17 & 18 below show the
percentage of underweight, overweight and obese children within each reach area.
Figure 17: Percentage of Reception children by in each weight category by
Children’s Centre Reach Area, 2015/16
The chart above shows that the highest percentage of Reception children who
weren’t a healthy weight was in the Kingsway reach area, followed by the
Warrington Road reach area.
With regards to excess weight in Year 6, the highest percentage also occurred in the
Kingsway area followed by the Warrington Road area.
Figure 18: Percentage of Year 6 children by in each weight category by Children’s
Centre Reach Area, 2015/16
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2015/16 NCMP Summary Report
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Schools
Figure 19: Map showing percentage of children with excess weight by ward of residence, Reception, Halton, 2013/14 to 2015/16
Figures 19 and 20 show the percentage of
children with excess weight (overweight &
obese) in Reception and Year 6 by ward.
The dark areas indicate higher levels of
excess weight children among those
measured.
The ward with the lowest percentage of
Reception children with excess weight was
Beechwood (16.3%), followed by Birchfield
(20.0%).
The ward with the highest percentage of
overweight and obese children was Halton
Brook (33.3%) followed by Kingsway
(31.3%).
Please note that even though 3 years’ worth of
data has been used, there were a relatively
small number of Reception children residing in
Hale ward compared to the other Halton
wards.
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2015/16 NCMP Summary Report
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Figure 20: Map showing percentage of children with excess weight by ward of residence, Year 6, Halton 2013/14 to 2014/15
The ward with the lowest percentage of
overweight and obese children
Daresbury (19.1%) followed by Hale
ward (26.7%).
The ward with the highest percentage
of excess weight children was Appleton
(42.7%), followed by Mersey (42.3%).
Kingsway, Broadheath and Windmill Hill
wards also had an excess weight
percentage which was 40% or above.
Please note that even though 3 years’ worth
of data has been used, there were a
relatively small number of Year 6 children
residing in Hale ward compared to the
other Halton wards.
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2015/16 NCMP Summary Report
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Schools
2
Figure 21: Percentage of Reception children with excess weight (overweight & obese) within each school 2013/14 to 2015/16
Excess weight
in Reception
year, by
school,
ranged from
10.8% to
45.6%.
2
(URN codes relating to each school can be found on Table 5.
NB: Care must be taken when interpreting these data as if only a small number of pupils are measured this could lead to misleading results)
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Figure 22: Percentage of Year 6 children with excess weight (overweight & obese) within each school 2013/14 to 2015/16
3
Excess
weight in
Year 6, by
school,
ranged
from
17.1% to
49.2%.
3
(URN codes relating to each school can be found on Table 5.
NB: Care must be taken when interpreting these data as if only a small number of pupils are measured this could lead to misleading results)
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2015/16 NCMP Summary Report
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Table 6: Schools in Halton with corresponding URN Codes
School URN
131217
111217
111175
140612
132195
111116
110994
111183
111197
111394
111176
111294
111244
111210
111229
111169
111199
110990
111188
111174
133322
111378
133320
137301
111141
111314
111228
111293
141980
111390
111372
111371
111383
111320
111319
111391
111392
111380
111316
111393
111124
111401
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School Name
All Saints Upton Church of England Primary School
Astmoor Primary School
Beechwood Primary School
Bridgewater Park Academy
Brookvale Primary School
Castle View Primary School
Daresbury Primary School
Ditton Primary School
Fairfield Primary School
Farnworth Church of England Primary School
Gorsewood Primary School
Hale Church of England Primary School
Halebank Church of England Primary School
Hallwood Park Primary School and Nursery
Halton Lodge Primary School
Hillview Primary School
Lunts Heath Primary School
Moore Primary School
Moorfield Primary School
Murdishaw West Primary School
Oakfield Community Primary School
Our Lady Mother of the Saviour Catholic Primary School
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Catholic Primary School
Palace Fields Primary Academy
Pewithall Primary School
Runcorn All Saints CofE Primary School
Simms Cross Primary School
Spinney Ave (Ditton CofE) Primary School
St Augustine's Catholic Primary School (Academy)
St Basil's Catholic Primary School
St Bede's Catholic Infant School
St Bede's Catholic Junior School
St Berteline's CofE Primary School
St Clement's Catholic Primary School
St Edward's Catholic Primary School
St Gerard's Roman Catholic Primary and Nursery School
St John Fisher Catholic Primary School
St Martin's Catholic Primary School
St Mary's Church of England Primary School
St Michaels Catholic Primary School
The Brow Community Primary School
The Grange Comprehensive School
2015/16 NCMP Summary Report
November 2016
111321
110992
111240
111002
111114
141538
111177
111125
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The Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School
Victoria Road Primary School
Westfield Primary School
Weston Point Community Primary School
Weston Primary School
Widnes Academy (West Bank)
Windmill Hill Primary School
Woodside Primary School