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Australian children should be weighed and measured at school to combat the growing obesity pandemic,
experts say.
Australian children should be weighed and measured at school to combat the growing obesity pandemic, experts
say. Photo: iStock
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carpet watch KristyLee Lobb 2012 : Birdcage
AUSTRALIAN children should be weighed and measured regularly at school to tackle childhood and Fashion
obesity, experts say.
Researchers from Deakin University's World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for
Obesity Prevention said efforts to address the public health epidemic in Australia were being Why cooler is better
hamstrung by inadequate and outdated data.
Visiting Queensland
They said the federal government needed to introduce a populationwide program to monitor is a joy for all the colour.
childhood obesity, which was ''a fundamental component of prevention''.
Writing in the journal Pediatric Obesity, the researchers said the absence of such a program
meant Australia was falling behind other countries including Britain in measuring childhood
obesity and evaluating strategies aiming at reducing it. Posted in: Pottering by
Date: Nov 22, 2012, 5:00AM
''Obesity is one of the major public health concerns facing Australia yet currently there are no
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routinely collected data to effectively track the problem,'' they said.
''Monitoring obesity prevalence in children provides important population health data that can be
used to track trends over time, identify areas at greatest risk, determine the effectiveness of
interventions and policies, raise awareness and stimulate action.''
The researchers, led by Dr Katie Lacy, said optout consent where parents were informed of the
program and consent assumed unless they sought to withdraw it was the best model to ensure
high participation rates and obtain representative data. They said fears that taking height and
weight measurements in schools could negatively affect children's body image appeared to be
unfounded, based on a statewide program in Arkansas in the US.
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''In the Arkansas program, it has been shown that there were no significant increases in teasing,
weight concerns, embarrassment or unhealthy dieting among adolescents after three years of
measurements,'' the researchers said. They said it appeared that problems could be avoided by
taking measurements privately and confidential results.
University of South Australia professor of health sciences Tim Olds, who is involved in an anti
obesity program that has taken height and weight measurements from thousands of South
Australian schoolchildren, said those taking part in the voluntary program were not given
individual data.
''That may avoid the pitfalls of parents overreacting or sensitising children to body image issues.
We want populationlevel data, and this doesn't tell us much about the individual child. Kids go
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through puberty, and they can go from being really tubby to beanpoles in six months.'' Life's pace slows and mellows
today. You can appreciate being
Monash University health sociologist Samantha Thomas said more effort was needed to lazy. A heightened sense of
understand the causes of unhealthy behaviour in children rather than the ''crude measure'' of togetherness pulls you and your
loved ones closer.
weight. ''Sometimes we can become really obsessed with numbers on a scale but what we really
...find out more here
want to think about and encourage is healthy behaviours. Sometimes weight doesn't reflect
Aries Leo Sagittarius
whether a kid is engaging in healthy behaviours or not,'' she said.
Taurus Virgo Capricorn
A spokesman for Health Minister Tanya Plibersek would not say whether the government would Gemini Libra Aquarius
consider a program to weigh and measure children in schools. Cancer Scorpio Pisces
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116 comments
“
Fat chance.
Cynical Observer Sydney August 27, 2012, 7:59AM
“
agreed.
and put more embarassment and pressure on kids... that' not going to help them and it's not
going to help the cause of the issue in the first place poor or misinformed education on
what is good nutrition, and lifestyle factors.
Our kids are not meant to be used as guinea pigs in some science experiment, but that's
what they are being used as.
This should not happen.
Rossco Brisbane August 27, 2012, 8:41AM
“
Yeah, weigh kids like cattle at school, but limit fast food advertising during afterschool
television? Introduce a simple traffic light system to let parents know what's healthy food and
what's packed with sugar?
Oh, no, that'd interfere with food producers right to make a buck. Can't have that.
sick of it August 27, 2012, 8:57AM
“
Agree, this won't make one bit of difference. The parents of overweight children will
already know that they're overweight (because in the majority, but not all cases, they are
too), but do little about it. Do they believe that shaming kids will force the parents into making
the necessary lifestyle changes? The kids are possibly already being teased and bullied at
school why add fuel to the fire. Will there also be allowances made for kids who store a bit of
fat just prior to a growth spurt (my brother was a pudgy kid until he hit 13 and then shot up
into a beanpole) or those with medical conditions that predispose them to being
overweight?
It would be better to remove junk food from canteens completely, provide better education
and guidance for parents who do seem to struggle with making the right choices, and
reduce the advertising and push of junk food onto kids (McDonalds I'm talking to you among
others).
CeePee August 27, 2012, 9:24AM
“
Nanny State again
Its not that hard to feed your kids health food and get them to do exercise.
Wormy Melbourne August 27, 2012, 1:54PM
“
'Nanny State again
Its not that hard to feed your kids health food and get them to do exercise.
Wormy '
What tosh. It is obviously hard to get kids to eat properly and do some exercise or otherwise
there wouldn't be rising rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
A definition of stupidity might be to keep doing the same things over and over, getting worse
results but expecting an improved outcome. The health statistics are frightening and the
government must be part of any chance of improvement.
And self interest is at play here. I don't want the morbidly obese 30 year old taking my
hospital bed when I'm 80.
kepler22b August 27, 2012, 2:38PM
“
Why is it that teachers end up being the ones who are asked to do the parenting. This is wholly
on the shoulders of parents. Turn off the TV and video games and start feeding your children a
balanced healthy diet and get out in the sunshine and do some bloody exercise with your kids. How
would adults like it if they had weighins and measurements at their place of work?
It needs to be a much more hollistic approach, rather than just weighing and measuring. There
needs to be longterm interactive training sessions with parents and their kids to show them how to
eat healthy and live a healthy lifestyle, as the parents are probably suffering the same fate if truth be
known. This needs to be done by dieticians (not teachers) and it needs to be done with a level of
privacy as you would expect from going to your family doctor. If not, there will be serious sideeffects
with kid's body image not to mention sticking a big target on the back of all those kids involved.
smithers Brisbane August 27, 2012, 8:08AM
smithers Brisbane August 27, 2012, 8:08AM
“
I totally agree!
we go bike riding on the weekend as a family and although my boy is to young to ride
himself he soon will be!
He loves fresh fruit so I don't find it hard to keep him happy without junk.
It is not hard to encourage healthy food!
Also making children feel bad about there weight will not help we need to get them into
being active.
Pat Sydney August 27, 2012, 8:49AM
“
Correct me if I'm wrong, but no where in the article does it suggest that teachers will be
doing the measuring, and I'd sure as heck hope that was the case. Teachers shouldn't be
expected to add another role to their work the work would be done by people trained in the
area.
Why would it be done at school? Lots of things are done at school which are not done at
workplaces. Immunisations, sport etc. Children are not adults. Adults are generally assumed
to be capable of making decisions for themselves. Children are often suffering as a
consequence of decisions made for them by others.
bornagirl Melbourne August 27, 2012, 8:58AM
“
I agree, weigh ins should take place, but at home or with a GP. Parents should be taking
in interest in their childrens health and fitness. We don't need to turn the schoolyard into an
episode of the biggest looser
Mick Melb August 27, 2012, 9:02AM
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