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In a recently published study, van Jaarsveld and Gulliford (2015) have used primary care electronic health records to evaluate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in 2–15-year-old children in England and compared trends over the last two decades (1994–2003 and 2004–2013). Height, weight and BMI data of 370 544 children were accessed from 375 general practices in England that contribute to the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink.

The costs of obesity and its related comorbidities to healthcare systems are well known, yet the effects on obese people individually are equally devastating. Obesity is now seen in people of all ages, even children, and it has widespread effects on physical health, reproductive health, employment, mental health, stigma and mortality risk. These effects are described in this article, and the urgent need to begin tackling the condition in primary care is highlighted.

An extension of the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP), one of the key initiatives in the current battle to bring childhood obesity in the UK under control, has been deemed by a recent House of Commons Health Select Committee report as being an issue not worthy of consideration by May’s incoming administration (House of Commons, 2015). Seemingly against the advice of its Chair, and former GP, Sarah Wollaston, who very publicly called for such a move last year (Chorley, 2014), the opportunity to make a real advance in the battle has been lost.