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Story summary
- Researchers link the recent rise in British children’s average height to growing obesity rates in poorer communities rather than better health.
- Oxford researchers found that 11-year-old boys averaged 146.4 cm and girls 147.5 cm in England, Scotland and Wales by 2023/24.
- The study attributes the height gain to pandemic-related school closures that cut activity and worsened diets, and notes childhood obesity rose from 37.7 % to 43.3 % between 2009/10 and 2023/24.