Petition · past parliament · Department of Health and Social Care

End weight checks for primary school aged children

Closed 138 signatures

What the petition asks

There are thousands of children being classed as overweight/obese, but a high BMI does not mean they are unhealthy. These checks could lead to parents changing eating habits, and could cause eating disorders. Eating disorders can start at a very early age. We would like these checks stopped!
Stopping weight checks as part of the National child measurement programme
could help prevent mental health problems that may result from children being classified as overweight or obese. BMI isn’t a definitive indicator of health, and concerns about a child’s weight should be dealt with sensitively on a case to case basis.

Timeline

1 Apr 2022 Petition opened for signatures
15 Oct 2022 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 138
Status Closed
Department Department of Health and Social Care
Opened 1 Apr 2022
Closed 15 Oct 2022

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.