CANCER Research UK has revealed alarming statistics on childhood obesity as children return to their desks for the new school year.

Every year, around 4,000 South West children who start primary school at a healthy weight end up obese or overweight by the time they leave.

And one in five children in the region are already overweight or obese when they start primary school. By the time they leave, that figure rises to more than one in three.

To highlight the staggeringly high level of children’s obesity, Cancer Research UK has transformed a store front into an XL school uniform ‘shop’ window to show the new norm of larger school uniforms.

Photographs of mannequins wearing the XL school uniforms have been released as part of the charity’s Junk Free TV campaign.

A government plan published last month failed to contain any commitments to protect children from junk food marketing or vital mandatory targets to reduce the amount of fat, sugar and salt in food.

So Cancer Research UK is now urging people across the South West to email their MP at cruk.org/ChildhoodObesityStrategy to raise the issue with Prime Minster Theresa May.

Jenny Makin, Cancer Research UK spokesperson, said: “The figures and images highlight the urgent need to help protect the health of the region’s youngsters. The Government has failed to do so.

“Obese children are around five times more likely to grow into obese adults, and obese adults are more likely to develop cancer and other diseases.

“There are lots of factors working against families when it comes to helping children make healthy choices – including children being bombarded with junk food advertising.

“That’s why we need people to email their MPs and demand robust action to help give our children the best possible chance of a healthy future.”

Being overweight or obese is the single biggest cause of preventable cancer in the UK after smoking and contributes to 18,100 cases of the disease every year. It is linked to 10 types of cancer including bowel, breast, and pancreatic.