More than 6,000 children treated at obesity clinics in England, figures show

More than 6,000 children living with obesity, including hundreds as young as four, have required treatment at specialist NHS weight-loss clinics, new figures reveal.

NHS England data, published for the first time, underlines the scale of the growing childhood obesity crisis.

Since the first Complications from Excess Weight clinic (CEW) opened in 2021, the NHS has treated 6,497 children and teenagers. Of these, 423 were four years old, 1,088 were aged between five and eight, 1,791 were aged nine to 12 and 3,137 were aged between 13 and 17. The age of a further 58 is unknown.

All were “extremely” overweight for their age, with the four-year-olds weighing an average of 33kg (5st 3lbs), the same weight as a typical 10-year-old. About 400 of the children treated by CEWs have had weight loss jabs as part of their treatment plans.

In order to be treated at a CEW, children must be referred by a community or hospital paediatrician, a GP or childhood mental health services and have a BMI above the 99.6th percentile as well as an illness linked to their excess weight.

The research, by Sheffield Hallam University, Leeds Beckett University, the University of Leeds, the University of Bristol and the University of Sheffield, found that just under 30% had metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and 17% had obstructive sleep apnoea. About 9% had deliberately self-harmed, and the same proportion had anxiety. A significant number were neurodivergent. Just under 30% had autism and about 12% had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. A further 24% had a learning disability.

Katharine Jenner, executive director at the Obesity Health Alliance, said: “These figures should be a wake-up call. All parents want their children to grow up healthy, yet seeing children as young as four needing specialist NHS treatment for their weight highlights just how early the drivers of poor health are taking hold.

“Children today are growing up surrounded by unhealthy food at almost every turn, leaving families struggling against a system that stacks the odds against healthier options.

“The fact that some children are already developing high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and early signs of heart disease at such a young age underlines why prevention has to begin in the earliest years of life."

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Source: The Guardian, 12 May 2026