child screening programme
Obesity
Obesity is when a person has too much body fat for their age, height and sex. Obesity usually happens when you eat more calories than you burn off by physical activity. Body fat is usually calculated as the Body Mass Index (BMI). There are special charts to show what the BMI should be in children of different ages.
Read more about obesity on the NHS website.
UK NSC screening recommendation Based on the last UK NSC review of this condition that occurred in December 2018.
The NSC does not recommend screening children for obesity because:
- it is not known if treatments would be effective at helping children to lose weight in the long term
- it is not known if children who take part in screening respond differently to treatments than those who were not screened
Supporting documents from the 2018 review
Evidence summary Obesity 7 11 (2018)
This document provides the evidence on which the current UK NSC recommendation is based.
Evidence summary Obesity under 5 (2018)
This document provides the evidence on which the current UK NSC recommendation is based.
UK NSC coversheet & consultaion responses Obesity (2018)
This document summarises the review process including the public consultation comments.
Review cycle
Date previous review completed: 2018
Next review estimated to be completed: 2021 to 2022.
To see previous evidence reviews, visit the UK NSC archive.
Organisations interested in Obesity
These organisations have expressed interest in this recommendation and may submit responses to evidence reviews.
List of organisations
- Association for the Study of Obesity
- Faculty of Public Health
- Institute of Child Health
- Obesity Group of the British Dietetic Association
- Royal College of General Practitioners
- Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
- Royal College of Physicians
- Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow
- Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
- Royal College of Surgeons
If you think your organisation should be added, please contact us.