By now, you may have heard about the National Obesity Forum¹ calling for all children to be weighed upon return to school in September, and then again in the spring, to encourage them to lose lockdown weight gain². It’s safe to say that whilst there has been a mixed response, the idea certainly invited a lot of criticism³, even gaining attention from BEAT, a UK eating disorder charity⁴.

References:

1. http://www.nationalobesityforum.org.uk/

2. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/health/weigh-children-obesity-lockdown-a4494436.html

3. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/jeremy-vine-weigh-school-children-debate-obesity-lockdown-jameela-jamil-a9664661.html

4. https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/

5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19320986/

6. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/210608

7. https://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/childhood/en/

8. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1471015316300848

9. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jobe/2014/983495/

10. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1038/oby.2006.208

11. https://acpinternist.org/archives/2017/02/weight.htm

12. https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/bar.2012.9972

13. https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/351026/WeightBias.pdf

14.  https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S2468-2667%2819%2930045-3

15. https://www.obesityaction.org/get-educated/public-resources/brochures-guides/understanding-obesity-stigma-brochure/

16. https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/140/6/e20173034

17.  https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-018-1116-5

18. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1038/oby.2006.208

19. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/addressing-weight-bias-in-medicine-2019040316319

20. https://www.worldobesity.org/what-we-do/our-policy-priorities/weight-stigma

21. https://www.jabfm.org/content/25/1/9.full

22. https://www.nature.com/articles/ijo2012156

23. https://www.cmaj.ca/content/192/31/E875

24. https://haescommunity.com/

25. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2866597/

26. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4381543/

27. https://cdn.easo.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/31073423/Obesity-Language-Matters-_FINAL.pdf

28. https://www.obesityaction.org/action-through-advocacy/weight-bias/people-first-language/

29. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4967717/

30. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6682932/

31. https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/healthy-weight-children-advice-for-parents/

32. https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/

33. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4386524/

34. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK235263/

35. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2562572/

36. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3920924/