HAVERING OBESITY FIGURES REVEALED AS HAROLD HILL IDENTIFIED AS PRIORITY AREA

8th October 20268th October 2026 Francesca Lilleystone 0 Comments Adults, Children, Havering, Healthy Living, Obesity min read

Almost one in four adults in Havering were living with obesity in the latest available figures, while Harold Hill has been specifically identified by Havering Council as an area requiring targeted action to tackle healthy weight and health inequalities.

The latest figures from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities show that 23.9 per cent of adults aged 18 and over in Havering were classified as living with obesity in 2024/25.

The figure is the latest local authority data available and represents a fall from 30.4 per cent recorded for Havering in 2023/24.

Nationally, the figure for England was 26.6 per cent in 2024/25.

The figures come from the latest obesity, physical activity and nutrition profile published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities in May 2026.

However, while the borough-wide figure has changed, Havering Council continues to identify significant differences between communities.

The Council’s Healthy Weight Strategy 2024-2029 specifically identifies Gooshays and Heaton wards in Harold Hill as the starting point for a targeted neighbourhood approach to tackling inequalities linked to obesity and healthy weight.

The strategy describes the area as a disadvantaged neighbourhood with high levels of obesity and sets out plans for a more intensive, place-based approach involving the Council, NHS, community organisations, residents and other partners.

The issue was also highlighted at a Havering Health and Wellbeing Board meeting in July 2025.

A report presented to the board stated that obesity was highest in Harold Hill and Rainham, which also had the highest levels of disadvantage.

The board was told that the Council’s healthy-weight work would include developing an action plan specifically for Harold Hill, alongside efforts to encourage healthier food options and increase opportunities for physical activity.

Children also a major concern

Havering Council’s current healthy-weight information highlights the scale of the issue among children.

It states that around one in five children aged four to five in Havering are overweight or living with obesity.

By the time children reach 10 to 11 years old, that rises to around two in five.

The Council says both figures are above the London and England averages.

The Council’s Healthy Weight Strategy has set a long-term ambition to improve healthy-weight levels among children and ultimately eradicate childhood obesity over a 20-year period.

For the targeted Gooshays and Heaton neighbourhood, one of the strategy’s specific objectives is to improve measures of excess weight among Year 6 children compared with statistical neighbours.

It is not simply about individual choices

Havering Council’s approach also recognises that obesity and healthy weight are influenced by much more than individual choices.

Its public health information points to factors including household finances, access to healthy food, working patterns, the local environment and opportunities to be physically active.

The Council says its approach therefore involves planning, transport, regeneration, schools, food businesses, community groups and the NHS, rather than focusing solely on individual weight loss.

The strategy also aims to establish a Healthy Weight Alliance involving residents and community groups, alongside a wider network of organisations working on the issue.

There are already initiatives operating locally, including food pantries in Harold Hill and Rainham, where the Council says residents can access £20 worth of shopping for £6.

Harold Hill specifically targeted

The latest information therefore presents a more complicated picture than simply saying Havering is becoming more obese.

The borough-wide adult obesity figure has fallen from 30.4 per cent in 2023/24 to 23.9 per cent in 2024/25, but Havering’s own public-health strategy continues to identify particular communities where health inequalities and obesity remain a significant concern.

Harold Hill is one of those areas.

The Council’s strategy specifically names Gooshays and Heaton for targeted neighbourhood-level healthy-weight work, while the Health and Wellbeing Board has previously identified Harold Hill and Rainham as areas with the highest levels of obesity and disadvantage.

The strategy is intended to make healthier choices easier by changing the environment around residents, rather than simply telling people to eat better or exercise more.

With Harold Hill already identified as a priority area, the question now is how effectively the Council, health services, community organisations, local businesses and residents can work together to improve health and wellbeing across the community.

The latest figures provide a snapshot of the borough as a whole, but the Council’s own strategy makes clear that the experience of healthy weight is not the same in every part of Havering.

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