What it means: almost every child in England is weighed and measured in reception and year 6. The solid line is year 6, the fainter line reception. Rates jumped during Covid, when fewer children were measured in 2019/20 and 2020/21, and have fallen back only partly since. A change of half a point or more on the year before counts.

Source: DHSC, National Child Measurement Programme 2024 to 2025, table 2 (obesity including severe obesity).