Size up your child’s BMI as they head back to school

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Published on Monday, 19 September 2011 20:12

Last Updated on 19 September 2011

Monica Costa

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New obesity figures spark call to action from NHS Choices. As children head back to school with lunch boxes and dinner money in hand, NHS Choices, the health information website for the NHS, is calling on parents to take a proactive approach to managing their child’s diet and weight.

Parents can start by checking their child’s body mass index (BMI) at
www.nhs.uk/bmi

NHS Choices’ call to action comes as worrying new obesity figures are
released, revealing that obesity rates would rise from a quarter in the UK
to about 40 per cent by 20301. Three in ten children in Britain are
overweight or obese2.

Dr Knut Schroeder said: “Children who are overweight in childhood are more
likely to become overweight adults. They are also at risk of developing
serious health conditions that carrying excess weight can bring, such as
diabetes. Making sure your child understands how to eat healthy from a young
age can be life-saving, so start the new school year as you mean to go on,
and look after your child’s diet.”

Unlike most BMI checking tools, NHS Choices has an online BMI checker that
is suitable for children aged two and above. Parents or guardians simply
need to provide details about the sex, age, height and weight of their child
and the tool will provide a percentile result informing the parent or
guardian if their child is a healthy weight.

For more information about
managing children’s diet, health and fitness, whatever their BMI, then visit
NHS Choices > > . If parents or
guardians are very concerned about their child’s weight, they should visit
their GP.

SOURCE

1 New obesity figures were released by the international group of
researchers, who have published a series of articles in The Lancet.

2 Childhood obesity statistic is sourced from the NHS Information Centre.