Whanganui children fighting the flab ... and winning

The percentage of children considered obese in Whanganui has dropped by over 10 per cent. Photo / Bevan Conley

The percentage of children identified as obese during their B4 school check has steadily fallen over the past two years.

A committee report released by Whanganui District Health Board (WDHB) this week shows the percentage of obese Maori children has dropped from 20 per cent in 2015-16 to 9.3 per cent in 2017-18.

For children categorised as "other", the percentage has fallen from 11.4 per cent to 8.2 per cent over the same period.

WDHB service & business planning portfolio manager Jon Buchan said there are several reasons for the turnaround.

"I think the Healthy Families initiative's wide-ranging reach and focus on connecting with Māori, the WDHB health promotion team's ongoing efforts to reduce sugary drinks and the introduction of the Be Smarter Tool have all contributed to the result we're seeing," Mr Buchan said.

"The Be Smarter Tool introduced into all general practices and Well Child Tamaraki Ora providers is helpful in ensuring that families receive consistent messaging and approaches to reducing obesity.

"It's heartening to think that by working together at a community level, health agencies, pre-schools and programmes are improving the wellbeing of our pre-school population, while also reducing the differences in health status that exists between Maori and non-Maori children."