Halting the childhood obesity epidemic within the next five years is one of the Government's most ambitious targets to improve children's wellbeing.
A sixth of children aged between two and 15 are obese and obesity in school-aged children has tripled in the last decade, according to the Health Survey for England 2002.
Local authorities and health authorities were jointly charged with spearheading the attack on obesity in the Treasury's Spending Review last summer through a public services agreement target to halt the year-on-year rise in childhood obesity by 2010.
So news that health authorities will not be expected to measure the extent of the problem until 2007 - just three years before the 2010 target - has come as a blow to professionals (Children Now, 29 June-5 July).
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