CHILDHOOD obesity remains well above national averages, following three years of neglecting the problem, a council’s scrutiny committee has been told.

The proportion of children with ‘excess weight’ leaving primary schools in the Slough Borough Council area in 2015/16 was 38.9 per cent, higher than the national (34.2 per cent) and regional (30.8 per cent) averages – and a rise of nearly 3.5 per cent since 2012 .

The committee identified the number of children with “excess weight” entering primary school and leaving it to be “noteworthy concerns”.

Council assistant director of finance and audit, Neil Wilcox, told committee members that they would be thinking of new ways of dealing with the issue.

However, Cllr Shabnum Sadiq (Wexham Lea, Lab) committee chairwoman, told him: “This is the third year you’ve been dealing with this. It’s time to stop thinking and start doing.”

The council had introduced a number of strategies aimed at tackling childhood obesity, including a greater emphasis on physical education in schools with programmes such as healthy-eating Let’s Get Going courses, and the Change4Life initiative.

Some councillors voiced suggestions of their own in regards to reducing childhood obesity.

Cllr Wal Chahal (Upton, Con leader) said: “My suggestion would be to use social media to reach more people about physical exercise facilities and events.

“Don’t remind them with just one message – make it a gentle drumbeat of messages, make it a part of their psyche, so when a parent gets a free moment they will think ‘Ah – I could take my children here, or to here’.”

Debate was also raised as to the effectiveness of the outdoor gyms that have been installed across Slough.

One councillor insisted they were “always busy”, but Cllr Chahal said he did not believe they were advertised effectively. “There are a lot of things, we could, and should, do better” he said.

Cllr Sadiq warned: “This has been going on for three years now – I don’t want it to continue any longer.”