‘Help parents tackle East End’s child obesity crisis’—MP Jim Fitzpatrick

Youngsters must be given the chance to get active for an hour a day if London’s deprived East End is to tackle its endemic child obesity crisis, an MP has warned.

Jim Fitzpatrick joined other MPs in the Commons including Public Health Minister Anna Soubry at a British Heart Foundation summit meeting on how to deal with the overweight problem among the young.

Tower Hamlets, which includes his constituency, has one of Britain’s highest child obesity rates.

“We’re locked in a battle with childhood obesity,” the Poplar and Limehouse MP said.

“The rising tide is not going to subside without action from politicians, parents, schools—and children themselves.

“Just an hour of physical activity a day can be part of the solution.

“But we also need to help parents make better choices about the food they’re serving up, while protecting youngsters from junk food marketing on TV and online.”

The Heart Foundation’s summit was “an eye-opener” about the scale of the problem in east London, he admitted.

Latest statistics from the National Child Measurement programme show one-in-four children aged 10 in Tower Hamlets are still obese.