It was reported today that East Lancashire Primary Care Trust have a plan to deal with overweight schoolchildren. When the children return to school after the summer holidays they are to be weighed, and, if overweight, apparently they and their families will be ‘cold-called’ by nurses, who will then encourage them to lose weight.

But how? I’m sure the intentions behind this scheme are good ones. But I can’ t help wondering how evidence based this scheme is. The Cochrane Library contains information about  interventions for reducing obesity. Essentially “there is a limited amount of quality data on the effects of programs to treat childhood obesity”. In terms of prevention, another Cochrane review says that “There is not enough evidence from trials to prove that any one particular programme can prevent obesity in children, although comprehensive strategies to address dietary and physical activity change, together with psycho-social support and environmental change may help”.

My concern is not just that I loathe pushing unsolicited medical advice. It is also that all medical interventions contain the possibility of harm. We don’t know whether children will be stigmatised or totally turned off by this kind of intervention. Additionally, the resources may be better used elsewhere to pay for decent and exciting play parks (I am always sad when the tiny patch of grass in housing estates is marked with ‘no ball games’ signs), safe road crossings to walk to school, or free good quality school lunches for all. But without considering what the evidence tells us, and trying to address these and their multiple uncertantites, we are not going to be doing anyone any favours.