CYP Now - Opinion: Debate - Will children benefit if parents are told theirBMI?

School height and weight checks were originally intended to track progress on reducing childhood obesity. However, the Government now wants to tell parents the results, despite initially rejecting the idea as making little difference.

NO - Claire Phillips, director of policy and research, Office of theChildren's Commissioner for England

These checks were proposed purely to measure progress against obesitytargets. The body mass index (BMI) is useful in measuring changes in theweight and height of the whole population, but it is not a reliableindicator of obesity in individuals. Using it in this way could lead toparents getting an inaccurate picture. If parents are told their child'sindex measurement, they also need details about its limitations andaccess to expert advice if they have questions.

YES - Joe Harvey, director, Food Education Trust

It seems screamingly clear that if you're doing an assessment ofchildren and you find a real reason for concern you should contactparents and let them know. It seems extraordinary that if a qualifiedhealth worker comes across a situation where a child is severelyoverweight or obese that they don't act on it and relate that back totheir GP. Body mass index has always been a slightly rough and readyform of assessment. But if you're going to do it, the level at whichconcern is triggered should be set.

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