News

FF TD calls for primary school children to be weight to battle obesity

FF TD calls for primary school children to be weight to battle obesity

A Fianna Fáil TD thinks all primary school children should be weighed.

One in four children nationwide are overweight or obese.

A recent report on childhood obesity has recommended no-fry zones near schools and banning vending machines.

Fianna Fail's Spokesperson on Children Anne Rabbitte also believes children's weight has to be checked for health reasons.

Advertisement

"It must be done sensitively," said Ms Rabbitte.

"This not about embarrassing any child or it's not about saying 'Oh there's the fat kid' or 'there's the skinny kid'.

"It has to be part of what is normalised, we have to normalise gathering this data.

"I would be saying we should be weighing a child [and] also looking at their fitness."

Advertisement

She added that: "We have free GP care up to 6-years of age. It should be part of that whole process."

Advertisement