Guernsey child obesity project investigated in schools
- Published
Work has begun to prepare a trial project to measure the height and weight of school children in Guernsey.
Dr Karina McHardy, a researcher at the University of Oxford, arrived in the island on Tuesday to start work on the Guernsey Child Measurement Initiative.
Pupils in years one and five at the Amherst and St Martin's primary schools have been invited to participate.
The aim is to establish whether a school-based monitoring programme would be beneficial to the Bailiwick.
Dr McHardy said: "If we know what is happening, we are better placed to determine what strategies and services will be most relevant to the local population."
Stephen Bridgman, the Bailiwick's Director of Public Health, welcomed the trial project.
"While it is known that obesity is a very important public health problem, better evidence on how to control it is needed worldwide," he said.
Parents have been assured that children will be measured one at a time in a private room and that individual results will be anonymous.