The scale and consequences of childhood obesity demand bold and urgent action from Government, says The Health Select Committee in their report on the subject. With one third of children leaving primary school obese or overweight, Living Streets, the UK charity for everyday walking, agrees that bold action is needed and has called for investment in the walk to school to tackle physical inactivity.

Treating obesity and its consequences is currently estimated to cost the NHS £5.1bn every year. It is one of the risk factors for type 2 diabetes, which accounts for spending of £8.8 billion a year, almost 9% of the NHS budget. The wider costs of obesity to society are estimated to be around three times this amount.

The report highlights nine areas for improvement, including greater powers for local authorities to reform the built environment to promote active transport, introduce 20mph zones and preserve open spaces for active play.

Caroline Cooban, Regional Director (Midlands), Living Streets says:

“The growing obesity problem is a sad reflection of our unhealthy lifestyles; diet is one aspect of this, but it’s also critical that we tackle physical inactivity - and getting more children to walk to school is one of the best places to start.

“Walking to school is a free, accessible and easy way for children to build exercise into their day. Despite this the number of pupils walking to school is in serious decline. A generation ago over 70% of children walked to school. Today this has dropped to 46%”

Recognising the wide-ranging benefits that walking to school brings the Government has set a target for getting 55 per cent of primary school children walking to school by 2025 but Living Streets is concerned that if funds are not committed, this target cannot be reached.

Caroline Cooban continues:

“A relatively small investment from the Government could help make walking the norm for millions of children, helping to cut childhood obesity. We are concerned that cuts in funding for walking and cycling announced in last week’s Spending Review will mean the problem isn’t tackled. Things will only get worse if we don’t act soon.”

Living Streets runs the Walk once a Week (WoW) scheme across the Midlands. WoW rewards children who walk to school with collectible WoW badges.

WoW currently encourages almost 400,000 children to get walking across the UK, has increased walking to participating primary schools by 26%, and been shown to cut driving by more than a third.

Chair of the Health Select Committee, Dr Sarah Wollaston MP, says:

“There are many causes (to obesity) and no one single or simplistic approach will provide the answer. We therefore urge the Prime Minister to make a positive and lasting difference to children’s health and life chances through bold and wide ranging measures within his childhood obesity strategy.”

More information on Living Streets can be found at www.livingstreets.org.uk