A young mum has begun campaigning to stop BMI weight checks of children at schools after receiving a letter telling her her four-year-old daughter was overweight.

Lauren Ormesher, of Skelmersdale, Lancashire, says her daughter Maggie, who does dancing every week and goes to Cobbs Brow Primary School and had recently been crowned the 'petite' Lancashire winner of a national pageant.

Lauren, 32, told LancsLive that she discovered many other parents had the same ordeal.

She said: “We got a letter home saying she’s overweight – I put a post up on Facebook and it turns out a lot of kids all over the country got this letter saying they’re overweight.

"It’s nothing to do with school – a lot of parents had it and had received letters; one was from South Wales and some were from London area and all over the place. Our letter was addressed to the parent or guardian of Maggie, and it said she was overweight according to their test.

"I was quite shocked as she’s a very healthy child and to see the word “overweight“ seemed crazy. Then I felt angry at the damage a letter like this could do to such young children."

The letter received by Lauren was from the Lancashire Healthy Young People and Families' Service, run by HCRG Care Group.

In response, Lauren has started a petition online calling for an end to BMI checks in this way.

She continued: “My concern was that some parents might put their kids on a diet and eating disorders, and all the stress that this entails.

“A lot of people are not happy with the BMI weight checks. There are alternative methods of keeping children healthy rather than weight checking them.

“A lot of parents are getting concerned, especially with Year 6 children who are old enough to understand. One child who’s had a letter is a gymnast; it’s a bit concerning that they are still using that method.

“The end goal is to stop it completely. If they’re going to do health checks it needs reform."

However, health bosses in Lancashire say the measure is just one of the services they provide to help to ensure young people maintain a healthy weight.

Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, Lancashire County Council's director of public health, said: "The National Child Measurement Programme is part of the Government's plans to improve young people's wellbeing and gather data relating to their health. We commission HCRG to deliver the programme in Lancashire.

"This is one of the services we provide to support the families of 0 to 19-year-olds, which help to ensure young people maintain a healthy weight and have an active start to life.

"Body Mass Index (BMI) is one of a number of indicators of people's health, but every case is different and we'd encourage any parents with concerns to contact their school nursing teams for help and support."

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A spokesperson for HCRG Care Group said: “The National Childhood Measurement Programme is a national scheme which we deliver in Lancashire on behalf of Lancashire County Council.

"As part of the programme, we write to parents whose children the programme identifies are either under or overweight for their age, sex and height to access to free support and guidance.

“Whilst we do understand it can be upsetting for parents to hear that their child has been measured and identified as overweight or underweight against the national target range, we hope they appreciate the information is intended to help identify where positive changes can be made and provide the support to make those changes.”

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