Weighing the facts of child obesity
By Jane Lavender
HEALTH chiefs have started to weigh Bolton's children in the battle against childhood obesity.
They have begun weighing and measuring year six pupils those aged 10 and 11 as well as reception class pupils aged four and five.
The Bolton Primary Care Trust's public health team wants to find out how many children are overweight or obese to build up a borough-wide picture of youngsters' health.
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It is the first time such data has been collected centrally. Previously, youngsters were weighed by the school nurse when they started primary school, but this information has never before been collated or analysed.
Public health specialist Deborah Harkin said: "Most of our information on childhood obesity has been based on national averages. Having local data will be a real benefit as we develop plans to tackle obesity.
"We must stress this project is about monitoring weight problems and obesity in the population as a whole, rather than identifying individual children who might need to lose weight."
Experts estimate about 20 per cent of Bolton children are obese or overweight, although the figure could be much higher.
But 10-year-old Daniel Hellings, a pupils at St John's CE School, Kearsley, makes sure he gets plenty of exercise and eats lots of fruit and veg.
"Being weighed is fine," he said. "It really isn't a big deal."
Daniel's mum, Lisa Kahraman, said: "I'm pleased this is going on in Bolton. It's useful for me because he doesn't have his height and weight measured anywhere else.
"Daniel is a healthy boy and his school has a healthy eating scheme. The school nurse has been in to talk to the children about healthy eating and that really helps at home."
Every child will be weighed and measured in private and their body mass index, which determines if they are overweight, will be calculated away from school and not revealed to anyone, apart from their parents who could ask for the information.
However, the average body mass index for each school will be disclosed and can be used as the basis for health initiatives to improve pupils' nutrition and exercise.
Data for the whole borough and specific areas will also be produced, highlighting where efforts to improve health should be focused.
Ms Harkin said: "We're aware of the anxiety some children might face about their height and weight, and for this reason children will be weighed and measured in private.
"No-one else will see the measurements, although parents might have them on request."
Obesity factfile
Obesity in childhood is dangerous because it can cause bone and joint problems, poor concentration, high blood pressure, headaches, gall bladder disease and numerous other complaints.
It is caused by an unhealthy diet and not taking enough exercise.
Nationally, about 20 per cent of children are overweight and 2.5 per cent are severely overweight or obese.
Obesity is calculated by the body mass index, which is the squaring of a person's height in metres and then dividing weight, in kilograms, by this figure.
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