'One in ten' school starters obese
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Almost one in ten children starting primary school are obese, according to statistics from the Department of Health.
The data is part of a breakdown of the nation's health designed to help people live longer and happier lives.
It is the first time figures, which highlight the 'health gap' between the affluent and the poor, have been broken down by each local health authority.
They showed obesity among reception-year children, aged four to five, averaged just under 10 per cent - with Teesdale in County Durham having the lowest rate (5 per cent) and Hackney in London the highest (16 per cent).
Government figures released in February showed nearly a quarter of children aged four to five and almost a third of ten to 11-year-olds was obese or overweight.
But the true figure could be much higher - as parents can elect to 'opt out' of having their children weighed at school.
The Health Profiles, published online, were prepared for every local authority and region across England by the Department of Health and the Association of Public Health Observatories.
Health chiefs said they would help the NHS and local authorities to target their resources more effectively.
By region, London had the worst figures for child obesity, with on average 11.3 per cent of children obese.
The worst affected areas of London after Hackney, with 16 per cent obese, were Tower Hamlets, Newham, Barking and Dagenham, and Lewisham, Lambeth and Southwark.
Richmond was the best with just 6.4 per cent of children obese.
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