3. Why is this a concern?
There are two primary stumbling blocks
1. Parents simply don’t see or acknowledge that
their child is overweight
2. Parents may recognise that their child is
overweight but don’t see this as problematic
However child obesity can and does lead to very
real difficulties for children and young people:
• Serious health conditions such as diabetes and
cardio-vascular complications may occur
• Psychological problems such as low self-esteem,
sadness and body dissatisfaction, loss of
confidence and social isolation
• Disengagement in physical activity
4. The Foresight report, predicts that by 2050, if no action is
taken, 60% of adults and 25% of children will be obese.
5. Assessing weight status in children
Establishing the weight status of children is
more tricky than with adults. This is because
Adults have stopped developing. However
children continue to grow.
In children, growth charts are used to plot age
and height against weight to determine what is
known as the body mass index (BMI) percentile
This provides a clear indicator of the child’s
weight in relation to a standard UK population
6. 9 Years old
Is Chris:
Normal weight
Overweight
Obese
Severely Obese
7. 7 years Old
Is Sarah:
Normal weight
Overweight
Obese
Severely Obese
13. Obesity tracking -
Childhood to Adulthood
Most obese children
remain obese as adults
Most parents wrongly
believe that their
children will grow out of
their weight
14. The strength of association grows with age. The
longer a child is overweight, the more
established and extreme this weight becomes.
15. Childhood Obesity Risk Factors
More than 8 hours of television a week
Sleeping fewer than 10.5 hours each night
Above average birth weight
One or both parents are obese
Size in early life & big weight gain 1st year
Excess body fat in pre-school years (3 – 5)
Low levels of physical activity
16. Signs that the child may need support
Child is being bullied or teased at school
Child is dropping out of games or PE or is always
out of breath or struggles to keep up
Child is consuming a very poor quality diet or
inordinate amounts of food
National Child Measurement Programme data
identifies child as very overweight
Child seems very unhappy or withdrawn or upset
The child or family have raised concerns
The child has other illnesses such as asthma,
diabetes etc.
17. How you can make a difference
Commit to working together as a family – losing
weight for children is just as challenging as it
is for adults – they will need your support.
Set some goals and targets around the things
that you think will make the greatest
difference, this could include: snacking,
portion size, takeaways and junk food, sugary
drinks
Think about physical activity. How can you
plan as a family to become more active. Think
also about how to reduce time sitting (TV
viewing and computer games)
As a family agree to self monitor your weight
each week and plot this over time
18. How can you get further help
Contact your local Alive ’N’ Kicking child weight
management service
Find your local service on www.ank.uk.com (locations)
Or call:
Sheffield 0114 321 1253
West Sussex 0300 123 0892
Barnet 0208 102 0530
Croydon 0203 757 6598
Bristol 0117 942 2602
Swindon 01793 465412
Enfield 020 8804 4255
Northamptonshire 01604 745084
