{"id":2170,"date":"2026-01-02T11:25:22","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T11:25:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthforkids.co.uk\/leicestershire\/?p=2170"},"modified":"2026-03-24T16:41:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T16:41:09","slug":"ncmp-your-questions-answered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthforkids.co.uk\/leicestershire\/ncmp-your-questions-answered\/","title":{"rendered":"NCMP: Your Questions Answered"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"NCMP- Your Questions Answered\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/384764401?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nWhat is the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP)?<br \/>\nWhy is body mass index (BMI) used to assess weight in children?<br \/>\nI\u2019ve been told my child is overweight, but I disagree with you. What should I do?<br \/>\nI have weighed and measured my child at home and don\u2019t agree with the results I received from you. What should I do?<br \/>\nMy child is very tall for their age, and I\u2019ve been told they are overweight. Aren\u2019t they just \u2018in proportion\u2019 rather than being overweight?<br \/>\nMy child does regular exercise and eats a healthy diet, but I have been told they are overweight. Is there anything more I can do?<br \/>\nI have been told my child is underweight. What should I do?<br \/>\nI don\u2019t know what the healthy weight range is for my child. Where can I find this out?<br \/>\nDoesn\u2019t telling parents that their child is overweight or very overweight make them feel judged, undermined and criticised?<br \/>\nDoes this weighing and measuring process not increase the risk of causing eating disorders in children?<br \/>\nShould I talk to my child about their result?<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nWhat is the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP)?<br \/>\nThe National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) measures the height and weight of children in Reception class (aged 4 to 5) and year 6 (aged 10 to 11), to assess overweight and obesity levels in children within primary schools.<br \/>\nWhy is body mass index (BMI) used to assess weight in children?<br \/>\nBMI is an indirect measure of body fat. It has been compared with more direct measures of body fat, such as MRI scanning, and has been found to be the most accurate and accessible method currently available for assessing weight in children.<\/p>\n<p>There are always limitations to the accuracy of medical tests, and these need to be taken into account when interpreting results. Both national and international bodies such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommend the use of BMI centiles as a tool to assess weight in children.<\/p>\n<p>If you would like help interpreting your child\u2019s result, you can ask your health professional.<br \/>\nI\u2019ve been told my child is overweight, but I disagree with you. What should I do?<br \/>\nThere are some limitations to using BMI centiles to assess weight in children, however, in the majority of situations, the result is accurate. If the BMI centile suggests your child is overweight and you disagree with this assessment, then it is probably best to consult your school nurse or GP. They can review the measurements, put these in the context of other aspects of your child\u2019s health and wellbeing and advise you accordingly.<br \/>\nI have weighed and measured my child at home and don\u2019t agree with the results I received from you. What should I do?<br \/>\nThere are a number of reasons that there may be a difference in measurements; your child may have grown in the time period between measurement and you receiving the letter, and weight can also fluctuate.<\/p>\n<p>A difference in clothing and equipment will also give a difference in measurements. If there is more than 2kg difference in weight measurements, or you are concerned, please contact the NCMP team using the number on your letter.<br \/>\nMy child is very tall for their age, and I\u2019ve been told they are overweight. Aren\u2019t they just \u2018in proportion\u2019 rather than being overweight?<br \/>\nChildren can be tall and overweight, even if they are in proportion. Using BMI centiles takes both height and weight into account and is still an accurate indicator of when a child is overweight, even in tall children.<br \/>\nMy child does regular exercise and eats a healthy diet, but I have been told they are overweight. Is there anything more I can do?<br \/>\nIt\u2019s positive that your child is undertaking regular exercise and eating a healthy diet. The recommendations are that children do 60 minutes of physical activity each day. It would also be beneficial to review the portion sizes given to your child. More information can be found on the Healthier Families website.<\/p>\n<p>If you are concerned and would like to discuss with a member of the Healthy Together team, you can contact the Healthy Together Helpline for advice. The Healthy Together Helpline can be reached by calling 0300 300 3001.\u00a0Calls are answered from 9am \u2013 4.30pm on weekdays, excluding bank holidays. Calls are charged at the same rate as calling a standard landline number.<br \/>\nI have been told my child is underweight. What should I do?<br \/>\nAs outlined in the results letter, if you are concerned about your child being underweight, please contact your GP initially to rule out any medical reasons for this and for further advice.<br \/>\nI don\u2019t know what the healthy weight range is for my child. Where can I find this out?<br \/>\nWe don\u2019t provide a healthy weight range in the results letter as this would become incorrect as soon as your child grows taller. The best way to find out what a healthy weight would be for your child is to enter their current measurements into the NHS BMI calculator then adjust the weight until the result falls in the healthy weight category.<\/p>\n<p>You could continue to use this method as your child grows taller, as what is a healthy weight will change as they grow.<\/p>\n<p>MapMeUK is a tool that uses body map pictures instead of body weight centiles to check whether you see your child\\&#8217;s body weight clearly.<br \/>\nDoesn\u2019t telling parents that their child is overweight or very overweight make them feel judged, undermined and criticised?<br \/>\nBeing told your child is overweight can be an upsetting experience, but it certainly does not imply your parenting is at fault.<\/p>\n<p>Our modern lifestyles can make it difficult to maintain a healthy weight, but there are still some simple steps we can take to stay healthy. We feel it is important to share your child\u2019s result with you so you can take action if necessary and so that you can be provided with help and support where this is needed.<br \/>\nDoes this weighing and measuring process not increase the risk of causing eating disorders in children?<br \/>\nThe NCMP has been carefully monitored since it began, and there is no evidence as yet that there has been an increase in eating disorders in young people as a result.<\/p>\n<p>We understand weight can be an emotive issue, and every effort is made to carry out the process sensitively.<\/p>\n<p>We listen to feedback from parents and schools and use this to continually improve the way the programme is delivered. The risk of causing sensitivity about weight has to be balanced against the risk to our children of the current rates of unhealthy weight. The NCMP is one way we can start to tackle unhealthy weight in our children.<br \/>\nShould I talk to my child about their result?<br \/>\nThis is a personal decision. We don\u2019t think you should automatically share your child\u2019s result with them, which is why the result comes directly to you at your home address rather than via your child.<\/p>\n<p>Older children, who may be more involved in any lifestyle changes you may be considering, may already know there is an issue, and might feel relieved to have an honest and positive discussion with you about it. Or you may feel your child is already very sensitive about their weight and sharing this result could be more negative than positive.<\/p>\n<p>Younger children may be less able to understand and it might be simpler to make lifestyle changes without a direct discussion with them.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP)? Why is body mass index (BMI) used to assess weight in children? I\u2019ve been told my child is overweight, but I disagree with you. What should I do? I have weighed and measured my child at home and don\u2019t agree with the results I received from you. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthforkids.co.uk\/leicestershire\/ncmp-your-questions-answered\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>NCMP: Your Questions Answered - Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Get the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) in our video.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.healthforkids.co.uk\/leicestershire\/ncmp-your-questions-answered\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NCMP: Your Questions Answered - 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