The Youth Sport Trust has pledged to work with schools to develop their physical education (PE) offer following the publication of a damning report about the health of children in the UK.

State of child health, the first-of-its-kind study delivered by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), revealed that more than one in five children in the first year of primary school were overweight or obese.

Furthermore, there has been “minimal improvement in the prevalence of child overweight and obesity over the last decade”.

Chris Wright, head of wellbeing at the Youth Sport Trust, said that “while it is sad to see the statistics” there were “things we can do today to make a difference for all young people, including those living in the most deprived communities”.

Indeed, the RCPCH report showed that 40 per cent of children in England’s most deprived areas are overweight or obese, compared to 27 per cent in the most affluent areas.

Wright added that the Youth Sport Trust was “committed” to helping schools “change the way they focus and deliver PE so it genuinely helps achieve wellbeing outcomes and it not so overly focused on sport content, competence and performance”.

Despite flagging obesity up as one of the major concerns in child health, the RCPCH made no mention of physical activity among its eight key recommended actions.

Instead there was a focus on banning the advertising of junk food before 9pm and the reversal of public health cuts which are “disproportionately affecting children’s services”.