Weighing Children At School Is As Bad Of An Idea As It Sounds

Word is out. Weighing children at school is the latest topic of debate on the internet, following a recent tweet from Jeremy Vine that went viral last week. The post, an excerpt from the UK Channel 5 show, has Martin Daubney and Ash Sarkar debate The National Obesity Forum's proposal to weigh children at school, once (or rather, if) they reopen in September.

Ash Sarkar says the National Obesity Forum's call to have children weighed in school could be "counterproductive" - but Martin Daubney thinks it's a good idea, telling us: "We worry about feelings over facts."@AyoCaesar | @MartinDaubney | @TheAnneDiamond | #JeremyVine pic.twitter.com/V1wb3eyTvg

— Jeremy Vine On 5 (@JeremyVineOn5) August 10, 2020

The forum has declared they believe it is necessary to weigh children, to see if they have gained weight over lockdown. They plan to use this information to implement health-promoting interventions, that will help these children to then ‘shift the pounds.’ Sound a bit archaic? a bit damaging? The internet agrees.

Viewers of the show were outraged by the proposal, and Daubney’s support for the initiative. The former Brexit party MEP defended his opinion, saying, “one-third of kids are starting secondary school obese” — a fair point to make, however, one which completely disregards the emotional impact this practice could have.

“We worry about feelings over facts,” Daubney says. Though perhaps we should be. “Weighing kids the second they return to the classroom not only contributes to more anxiety, but is likely more detrimental than beneficial,” says family medicine doctor, Sabina Rebis, in an article by Glamour.

A quick skim of the Jeremy Vine comment section demonstrates the harm that can come from this, “I was weighed in school. In a year 7 science lesson, the whole class was. I had the 3rd highest weight in class and was ridiculed by everyone for it. Chubby, fat, chunky you name it I was called it. It's a disgraceful suggestion that children should be getting weighed at school” says one user. These anecdotes aren’t far and few between either, there are plenty of them. Namely, stories that recount the start of mental health issues, eating disorders, and bullying.

It hardly seems worth it. And with isolation ruining a large part of their year, haven’t the kids had enough? The growing consensus is that schools should be supporting children right now, instead of giving them further reasons to be anxious. And we couldn’t agree more.   

Next up, Why Mental Health Is More Important Than Ever This Back-To-School Season.