ISER Internal Seminar: Weight report cards: help or harm in preventing childhood obesity? Evidence from England

Abstract: This paper assesses the impact of giving parents information about the weight status of their child. As part of a school-based weight-screening program to assess overweight and obesity levels in children in England, parents receive weight report letters that comprise information on child’s body measurements, supporting materials, and a list of resources for further assistance. Based on the Millennium Cohort Study and using variation in the timing of the school visit with respect to the survey interview, we evaluate the effect of the information intervention on health-related behaviour, adverse effects of the intervention as well as academic performance. We find that adiposity-related outcomes, sedentary behaviour, physical activity, and fruit intake remain unaffected by the program while it leads overweight children to skip breakfast and to feel more tired at school.