Obesity amongst Children and Young People

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:52 pm on 13 March 2019.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 2:52, 13 March 2019

We have a range of different measures in place. I described some of them in answer to the question. This isn't simply a matter for the health service. It is about health and health outcomes. For example, the daily mile is not something that the health service itself directly delivers, but it is working in partnership with schools about different forms of activity. Other schools won't have a daily mile, but they will have a different form of regular physical activity within the school.

You're right about the pattern for life that is set in our earliest years, both in the learning and the example that comes before engaging in school, as well as in particular the lessons in life and the patterns for life that are set at the end of primary education. So the 'Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales' consultation will look again at an evidence base. We looked at, for example, Holland, where there has been leadership and there's been a turnaround in some contexts, to see how we apply that successfully here.

Actually, the work that I've seen at Bishop Childs school—they attended the launch of the 'Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales' consultation—does demonstrate that it is possible to do something, but the challenge is how consistently we're able to do that, and not just in Hywel Dda but right across the country. Hywel Dda may have the second highest rate of obese children, but, in statistical terms, there isn't a significant difference. You actually see the difference in the socioeconomic status of where our children are, and that is a big challenge for us in every part of the country.