MORE education about healthy eating is needed to tackle childhood obesity in Oxfordshire, experts have said.

Figures released by the NHS last week showed that one in three children in the county are overweight or obese when they leave primary school.

The figures showed that, over the 2016/17 school year, 29.7 per cent of primary school leavers in Oxfordshire were overweight or obese, compared to a national average of 34.6 per cent.

Oxford had the highest levels – 35.1 per cent – while South Oxfordshire was lowest at 25.7 per cent.

Dr. Helen Salisbury, a GP at Jericho Health Centre said: "One in three is a very, very, high number and it's worrying.

"We know that the pattern of activity and weight care are formed very early, and healthy levels of activity are formed quite young in life.

"There's also a correlation with social gradient and levels of obesity.

"It tends to be children from less advantaged backgrounds that are overweight, which is often due to cheap, filling, foods being more calorie dense."

The NHS defines a child as overweight if their body mass index (BMI) is between 85 and 95 and obese if it is above 95.

BMI is calculated using age and sex as well as height.

An 11-year-old boy who is 4ft 7in tall and weighs seven stone would be classed as overweight.

Tom Berry, head of business development at Oxford charity Healthy Eating and Nutrition for the Really Young (HENRY), said education was vital:

He said: "Obesity is the largest public health issue in the country.

"It's a problem across all demographics but it's twice as high in most deprived areas.

"It's the early years of life that are really critical.

"Of the children who are obese when they enter Reception, only one in 20 return to a healthy weight by the end of primary school.

"It's very difficult to reverse if overweight and obese people aren't living a healthy lifestyle by age 11.

"Parents need more than education alone, for example, five-a-day is a well-known rule but less than 20 per cent of people actually do it."

While the proportion of children in Oxfordshire who were overweight or obese dropped slightly compared to 2015/16 – down from 30.6 per cent – the Oxford figure rose by half a percentage point.

Caroline Mentzer, 40, a nutritionist from Headington has two children, Melissa, aged seven, and Rowan, one-and-a-half.

She told the Oxford Mail: "I was an obese child, so I think it's really important for my daughter to know how to cook well and look after herself, because she has a genetic propensity to gain weight."

Melissa has been taught to cook a variety of dishes including a sausage casserole.

Ms Mentzer added: "I teach my daughter how to cook meals and make healthy choices.

"Last week we made a lasagne with cauliflower instead of cheese sauce and my kids loved it. We cook all sorts, veggie curry and our own sushi too."