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Parents urged to use online obesity test for children
Parents will be urged to use an online test to check if their child is obese, the Department of Health said yesterday.
The results of primary school tests which record the height and weight of five- and 10-year-olds will be sent to parents in the post.
They will be directed to an Internet check which will ask for the information and tell them if their child is overweight.
The letters will also suggest remedies, such as a change in diet or more exercise, and point families towards local health services.
In extreme cases, doctors may suggest surgery to older children to reduce their weight, such as a gastric band.
A Department spokeswoman said: "We want to ensure that parents are aware of the options available to them so that they can take responsibility for choosing the most suitable ways to support their child in achieving a healthy weight."
"We hope that the provision of this information will prompt a conversation in families about healthy lifestyles and weight issues, helping them to understand the importance of healthy weight for their family, and supporting them to make lifestyle changes or take appropriate action accordingly."
The routine measuring of every child's height and weight is part of the National Child Measuring programme which was reintroduced two years ago.
Analysis of the data will show trends in obesity among children from when they start primary school to when they leave.
Plans to inform parents about their child's weight are part of the Health and Social Care Bill, published yesterday.
Currently, parents have to ask the school to send them the information about their child's height and weight. The new rules mean parents will have to opt out of the programme or automatically receive the results.
Obesity rates in England have more than tripled since the 1980s. About one in five adults are obese and more than half either obese or overweight – almost 24 million people.
The latest figures show 10 per cent of girls and 8 per cent of boys under the age of 20 are chronically overweight.
By 2010 a third of all men and 28 per cent of women in England will be obese, according to figures from the Department of Health.
By 2050, experts predict 60 per cent of men, 50 per cent of women and a quarter of all children in Britain are likely to be clinically obese.
Obesity is defined by a Body Mass Index (BMI), a measurement relating weight and height, of 30 and over. People who are overweight have a BMI that is between 25 and 30.
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Friday 10 February 2012
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