Almost quarter of four-year-olds in Sandwell 'classed as overweight or obese'

A report into children's health also revealed a whopping 41 per cent of Year 6 children are overweight - seven per cent higher than the national average.

Dinner ladies could be targeted by health chiefs trying to tackle the rising problem by being ordered not to serve children who bring their own lunch to school and avoid being over generous with portions.

Statistics showed the number of overweight children in Sandwell has risen over the last decade, with diet and a lack of exercise thought to be the major factors.

The report to Sandwell Council's children's services scrutiny board said 23.7 per cent of children in the borough were overweight or obese by the time they were in reception.

It said children in Sandwell were more likely to suffer with weight problems due to 'deprivation' levels in the borough.

Scrutiny board members have now called for urgent action to try and address the problem.

The council has been advised to form closer ties with schools so that levels of physical activity can be monitored.

The report said there was 'limited' engagement with schools and no data about how much exercise children were doing.

SIPS Education, which provides school meals, has adjusted sugar content in its food in response to the fears, while school dinner ladies could be given extra training to ensure children were not being over-fed, the report said.

However, there was some praise for steps taken by the authority, such as signing up 85 schools to an activity scheme and more than 40 to a healthy eating project.

Councillor Liam Preece, vice-chairman of the scrutiny board, said the figures were shocking but added he believes the council is doing its best to tackle the issue.

He said: "The figures are worrying but Sandwell Council is putting forward a public health strategy which is looking at better dietary choices for parents.

"But we are a council, we can't tell people what to eat, we can only advise people to eat less sugar."

Councillor Preece believes the prevalence of sugary foods and drinks as well as computer games and the rise of social media could all be having an impact on children's health.

He said: "An element of it is the amount of fats and sugar in our food. Processed foods and fizzy drinks are very bad in excess."