Childhood obesity in the Borough of Richmond is at one of the lowest levels nationally, but the council have promised to continue to address the problem.

In a report issued this month by the NHS, it was highlighted that only 5.2% of Richmond upon Thames children aged four to five are considered obese, compared to an average of 9.6 per cent in other English local authority areas.

The trend continued to year six, where only 13.1 per cent of children aged 10-11 were considered obese compared to 20 per cent elsewhere.

Councillor Mark Boyle, Richmond Council cabinet member for public health, said: “Richmond upon Thames has a strong track-record in promoting healthy lifestyles for children and young people and their families.

“It is good that all our hard work to combat childhood obesity continues to pay off.

“We have a number of programmes in place to encourage young people and their families to make the right nutritional choices and stay active.

“Carrying excess bodyweight at a young age can have a serious short and long term effect on an individual’s quality of life and health.”

The figures are from the National Child Measurement Programme, where over one million children are measured by height and weight every year.

Although Richmond performs well, there are still more than 3,000 overweight or obese primary school children in Richmond.

Richmond has many campaigns and programmes in place to encourage healthy lifestyles for all young people such as the Active Travel programme and Daily Mile.