Childhood obesity weighs heavy

HENLEY-ON-THAMES, U.K. - April 9, 2013 - PRLog -- The UK’s leading manufacturer of medical weighing scales is receiving more requests than ever before for scales which help manage the huge problem of childhood obesity.

Richard Black, the Managing Director of Marsden Weighing Group, has said that despite the implementation of The Healthy Child Programme (HCP) in 2009, they are seeing increased evidence of the epidemic of childhood obesity through both anecdotal feedback from healthcare professionals and orders for their scales.

HCP is a public health initiative for children, young people and families launched to ensure children grow up to be healthy individuals.

The programme involves a series of reviews, screening tests, vaccinations and information that supports parents and helps them to give their child the best chance of staying healthy and well.

Richard Black, Managing Director or Marsden Weighing Group, said: “The Healthy Child Programme is absolutely critical in managing the problem of childhood obesity.

“It is clearly still a huge issue – and this is being borne out in both the discussions we’re having with health visitors and the requests we’re seeing for our scales which have the capability to deliver the greater accuracy required in measuring the weight of young children.”

A key part of the programme is regular tracking and recording of a child’s weight as childhood obesity is one of the government’s main public health priorities.

The Department of Health’s National Child Measurement Programme shows that by the start of school as many as 13% of children are already overweight and 10% obese, rising to 14% and 17% by the end of primary school.

It is estimated that by 2050 two thirds of the population are predicted to be obese.

The HCP is offered in GP surgeries, local clinics and Children’s Centres. The Programme is led by a team of health visitors, who work closely with GPs and local Children’s Centres.

Regular weighing sessions at home, at pre-school children’s centres and primary school allow parents and carers to spot the early foundations of obesity and allows them to make lifestyle adjustments in areas to improve the child’s health.

Key to these regular weighing sessions is a weighing scale which is both highly accurate and also designed for ease of use, such as Marsden’s MS-4101 Portable Scale.

The MS-4101 is a digital, portable and lightweight weighing scale, ideal for community midwives, school nurses, healthcare workers and parents to accurately record and track the weight of children during these vital early years.

Richard Black concluded: “Our scale has been designed to aid with the Healthy Children Programme and ensure accurate recording of children’s weight as they grow and become healthy young adults.”