Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will (a) publish average weight to height ratios for children in England and (b) provide advice on any health implications for those who have a ratio significantly larger or smaller than the average.

The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) collects data on the height and weight status of children aged four to five years old, who are in Reception, and 10 to 11 years old, who are in Year six. The data collected and published by NHS England is expressed as a Body Mass Index (BMI) centile, to estimate child overweight and obesity. Data on average weight to height ratios for children in England is not available. The Department does not plan to publish data on average weight to height ratios, or average waist to height ratios for children in England. Waist measurements are not collected as part of the NCMP.

The clinical guidance from the National Institute of Health and Care Research recommends that a waist to height ratio measurement is considered alongside a child’s BMI centile in individual clinical assessments, to give a practical estimate of central adiposity. If a child falls into an unhealthy weight category, a waist to height ratio will give additional health information in clinical settings. This includes helping to assess and predict individual health risks such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, or cardiovascular disease, as the location of where children carry weight on their bodies has an influence on their health.