Obesity rates in primary school children in England have seen significant increases during the COVID-19 lockdowns, according to newly released statistics. The National Child Measurement Programme, which measures obesity prevalence among school-aged pupils in reception class and year 6, published its latest findings on Tuesday. The new data show that obesity rates increased in both year groups by around 4.5 percentage points between 2019/20 and 2020/21, the highest rise since the programme began. Among children in reception classes—aged 4 and 5—the obesity rates rose from 9.9 percent in 2019/20 to 14.4 percent in 2020/21. Among pupils in their last year of primary school—aged 10 and 11—obesity prevalence increased from 21 percent in 2019/20 to 25.5 percent in 2020/21. Since March 2020, England has undergone three national lockdowns and a wave of “tiered” regional lockdowns. Schools were shut for months on end, and people were ordered to stay at home with …