Heaviest child in UK is 20 STONE and aged just 10 years old

By Paul Byrne

At 19st 7lbs, the Year 6 pupil is one of the heaviest children in the UK - three others found to be more than 16 stone in annual health checks

A 10-year-old child was found to weigh almost 20 stone after stepping on the scales at school.

At 19st 7lbs, the Year 6 pupil is one of the heaviest children in the UK.

It is not known if the youngster is a boy or a girl.

The child was weighed as part of an annual child measurement programme.

Three other primary school children have been found to be over 16 stone in the past three years in Coventry and Warwickshire.

One weighed-in at 18st 6lbs, one at just over 18st, and another at 16st 7lbs .

The figures were provided by the National Child Measurement Programme, a yearly weigh-in of reception and Year 6 children.

Coventry City Council says it has about 10,000 primary school children who are either overweight or clinically obese.

Berni Lee, the city's public health consultant, said they are working with schools and midwives on healthy living and active lifestyle schemes.

They are also targeting deprived areas where weight-related issues are highest.

She believes the programme is the best tool to measure the health of the nation’s children.

“Sometimes it can be wrong, especially if a child is borderline. It’s not perfect" she said.

“But the question is how do we work with parents, support them to make the changes that need to happen.”       

Half of the city’s adults are either overweight or obese.

“We’ve become accustomed to the overweight because it’s so common in our society,” she said.            

“But we shouldn’t focus on weight, we should focus on the behaviours, their eating and the activity.

“If we did this healthy weights will naturally follow.”