INFORMATION RESOURCES ON OBESITY
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National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP)
Introduction and policy context
The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) is one element of the Government’s work programme on childhood obesity, and is operated jointly by the Department of Health (DH) and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). It aims to increase public and professional understanding of weight issues, and engagement with children and families on healthy lifestyles.
Headline results for the academic year 2008/09 have now been published by the Information Centre and are available on their website:
An additional analytical report will be published by the National Obesity Observatory (NOO) in early 2010 which will examine data quality issues, the effect of the time of year on measurement and will examine variation in BMI distribution against sex, age and socioeconomic deprivation. Detailed analysis of the 2007/08 data is available on the NOO website or via the link below:
The data provided by the programme will inform indicators 55 and 56 of the National Indicator Set, which relate to the DCSF Departmental Strategic Objective (DSO) ‘to secure well-being and health of children and young people’. This will allow for assessment of PCT performance in relation to the obesity target, and will also allow for improved planning and delivery of local services for children.
These pages aim to provide resources and information to those working on the NCMP throughout the East Midlands, and to share knowledge and good practice.
More information on the National Child Measurement Programme can be found on the Department of Health pages:
PCTs are entitled to access individual level data for further local analysis for their PCT only and this can be accessed from their regional Public Health Observatory. Please contact
should you wish to access local data for within the East Midlands region.
East Midlands NCMP results
East Midlands National Child Measurement Programme 2009/10 School Year
This report summarises the regional results from the 2009/2010 National Child Weight Management Programme. The report provides analysis of the data at Primary Care Trust level, and compares data with previous years as well as providing breakdowns by gender, school year, deprivation decile and ethnicity
Summary of 2008/09 NCMP results
EMPHO has produced a brief summary of the prevalence of overweight and
obese children in the East Midlands Government Office Region as recorded as
part of the National Child Measurement Programme 2007/08. The paper also
gives details of significant changes in prevalence between 06/07 and 07/08.
A more comprehensive report of the 2008/09 NCMP results for East Midlands region is also available:
A brief summary of the latest results by PCT is given below.
Prevalence of underweight, overweight and obese children in Reception Year (ages 4-5 years) with associated 95% confidence intervals, by PCT, East Midlands, 2008/09
Primary Care Trust
|
Underweight |
Overweight |
Obese |
Prevalence (%) |
Prevalence (%) |
Prevalence (%) |
Bassetlaw PCT |
0.2 ± 0.3 |
14.5 ± 2.2 |
10.4 ± 1.9 |
Derby City PCT |
0.7 ± 0.3 |
12.2 ± 1.3 |
9.47 ± 1.1 |
Derbyshire County PCT |
0.5 ± 0.2 |
14.1 ± 0.9 |
8.60 ± 0.7 |
Leicester City PCT |
2.2 ± 0.5 |
11.2 ± 1.1 |
10.0 ± 1.0 |
Leicestershire County & Rutland PCT |
0.8 ± 0.2 |
14.0 ± 0.9 |
8.84 ± 0.7 |
Lincolnshire County PCT |
1.5 ± 0.3 |
13.4 ± 0.8 |
9.85 ± 0.7 |
Northamptonshire County PCT |
2.3 ± 0.4 |
11.2 ± 0.7 |
8.31 ± 0.7 |
Nottingham City PCT |
1.2 ± 0.4 |
14.6 ± 1.4 |
10.03 ± 1.1 |
Nottinghamshire County PCT |
0.7 ± 0.2 |
12.8 ± 0.8 |
8.86 ± 0.7 |
East Midlands |
1.2 ± 0.1 |
13.0 ± 0.3 |
9.12 ± 0.3 |
England |
1.0 ± 0.0 |
13.2 ± 0.1 |
9.6 ± 0.1 |
Prevalence of underweight, overweight and obese children in Year 6 (ages 10-11 years) with associated 95% confidence intervals, by PCT, East Midlands, 2008/09
Primary Care Trust
|
Underweight |
Overweight |
Obese |
Prevalence (%) |
Prevalence (%) |
Prevalence (%) |
Bassetlaw PCT |
0.6 ± 0.5 |
13.3 ± 2.0 |
19.16 ± 2.3 |
Derby City PCT |
1.9 ± 0.5 |
14.8 ± 1.4 |
17.15 ± 1.5 |
Derbyshire County PCT |
0.8 ± 0.2 |
14.5 ± 0.8 |
17.76 ± 0.9 |
Leicester City PCT |
3.3 ± 0.6 |
14.5 ± 1.2 |
17.78 ± 1.3 |
Leicestershire County & Rutland PCT |
1.0 ± 0.3 |
14.0 ± 0.9 |
15.94 ± 0.9 |
Lincolnshire County PCT |
1.1 ± 0.3 |
15.0 ± 0.8 |
18.52 ± 0.9 |
Northamptonshire County PCT |
1.0 ± 0.2 |
14.6 ± 0.8 |
17.77 ± 0.9 |
Nottingham City PCT |
1.4 ± 0.5 |
13.6 ± 1.3 |
22.56 ± 1.6 |
Nottinghamshire County PCT |
1.3 ± 0.3 |
14.5 ± 0.9 |
17.32 ± 0.9 |
East Midlands |
1.3 ± 0.1 |
14.4 ± 0.3 |
17.86 ± 0.4 |
England |
1.3 ± 0.0 |
14.3 ± 0.1 |
18.3 ± 0.1 |
Department of Health July workshops
The Department of Health and the Department for Education and Skills held workshops on the National child Measurement Programme in July 2007. The aim of the workshops was to consult with PCT and school staff on what went well in the 2006-07 programme and where improvements are still needed. Changes to the programme for 2007-08 were also discussed.
Key clarifications and alterations for 2007/ 08
- PCTs should achieve as close to 100% coverage of eligible students as possible, with a minimum of 80% coverage.
- The 80% coverage target will be performance monitored by SHAs through the LDP.
- PCTs will provide SHAs with a delivery plan highlighting how they propose to achieve their 80% coverage target by May 1st 2007.
- Parents will be ACTIVELY ENCOURAGED to access their children’s measurements through the ‘Why your Child’s Weight Matters’ leaflet.
- All children will be automatically included in the programme unless the ‘opt-out’ form is received from parents.
- Data from independent schools are not required but can be included in the data submission to the NHS Information Centre. However, this data will not be included in coverage figures for the LDP targets.
- Regarding children with special needs only those able to stand on the weighing scales and height measures unaided should be weighed and measured as part of the NCMP.
Data to be collected
Essential Information
PCTs need to submit the following data to the NHS Information Centre for each child:
- DCSF school unique reference number (six digit number)
- School Name
- Pupil First Name
- Pupil Last Name
- Sex (1 character, coded to M for male and F for female)
- Date of birth (format 22/12/2007)
- Date of measurement (format 22/12/2007)
- Height (in centimetres, to the nearest millimetre e.g. 111.4cm)
- Weight (in kilograms, to the nearest millimetre e.g. 20.6kg)
- Full home postcode (8 character string)
- Ethnicity
Supplementary information
- Name and contact information for the PCT obesity lead
- Where data have been stored
- Number of children withdrawn from the measurement and reason
- Reason for any differences between the PCTs pupil number denominators and those supplied within the data-capture tool
- Number of requests for feedback by parents
Data collection and handling
- Equipment should comply to the following standards:
- Weighing scales must comply with EU Directive 90/384/EEC
- Height should be measured using the appropriate stand-on height measure
- Children’s BMIs should not be calculated at the point of measurement
- Children should never be told the measurements of other children
- Parents have the right to information about their children and can request their child’s height and weight results from the PCT within ONE MONTH
- Measurements should not be fed back routinely and children’s names should be removed from the dataset after one month
- PCTs should treat data according to local information governance protocols for patient level clinical information
Data processing procedure and analysis
- The 2007/08 data collection tool will be available for upload on the Information Centre Website from November 2007.
- Data can be uploaded at any time throughout the 2007/08 school year. The deadline for uploading is 5 September 2008.
- Identifiable information will not be uploaded to the NHS Information Centre.
- DCSF school code will need to be entered.
- National dataset will be available from IC early 2009.
- This information will be used to pre-populate LDP lines.
Communications/consent
The following resources have been provided:
- A Department of Health information leaflet ‘Why your child’s weight matters’
- An on-line BMI calculator
- A Question and Answer section in the guidance to address concerns from parents and the children
- Health promotion materials on healthy lifestyles, including advice on healthy eating and physical activity for children, are available from www.direct.gov.uk/en/HealthAndWellBeing
- A specimen letter for parents to inform them of the intention to weigh and measure their child and giving parents an opportunity to opt their child out of the process (Appendix 3 of the full guidance)
- A specimen letter to the Head Teacher and board of governors from the PCT (Appendix 2 of the full guidance)
Training
PCTs should ensure that trained health professionals oversee and are responsible for ensuring the process of measuring children takes place, in line with the recommendations in the full guidance
- All staff engaged in weighing and measuring children should have completed a Criminal Records Bureau check
- PCTs should provide appropriate training for staff undertaking measurement of children and the recording and uploading of data
- Suggested training may be found in ‘Department of Health Obesity Training Courses for Primary Care’: http://www.domuk.org/
- DCSF guidance on working with children can be found here: http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/docbank/index.cfm?id=2172
The full guidance is available at the following link:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Policyandguidance/Healthandsocialcaretopics/Healthyliving/DH_073787
Examples of existing schemes to measure BMI in children
These examples of existing schemes, surveys and innovative practice provide a range of approaches to BMI surveillance. They pre-date the guidance and do not necessarily present a model that will fulfill the guidance. They are presented in order to share ideas, approaches and information about lessons learnt.
Key resources
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PAGE CREATED: 1 April 2007 | PAGE REVISED: 3 August 2010