PROPOSALS to weigh children from four to 10 to tackle obesity have been welcomed by a Kent MP.

Dartford Labour MP Dr Howard Stoate, who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Obesity Group, said the problem was now so serious that radical steps were needed.

He was speaking after the Department of Health confirmed it planned to introduce the tests for all primary pupils.

He said: "This is a good idea. The incidence of childhood obesity has trebled in 20 years in this country and as a result, the number of people at risk of heart problems and different cancers when they are adults is rising all the time.

"It is an extraordinarily worrying trend and unless we start weighing children we will not know the true scale of the problem. It is the next biggest epidemic and while I understand why some people might be unhappy about it, we simply have to do something."

He rejected the claim that it could lead to more bullying.

"Children will not be bullied just because they are weighed. What we are hoping to achieve is a sensible discussion with parents that allows them to deal with the issue and encourages them to devise strategies such as more exercise through sport. This is such a serious issue we cannot simply do nothing."

The Department of Health’s plans will see children weighed when they first enter school then again when they leave at the age of 11.

Overweight pupils will be offered help from health professionals and schools.

Dr David Haslam, of the National Obesity Forum, said: "I think this is a good thing as weighing and measuring does increase parental awareness."