Experts claim overweight children should be taught in separate PE lesson to 'fit' classmates

Because they are ashamed of their bodies

New proposals could see overweight children being taught in separate PE classes to their slimmer peers.

Experts have claimed that the government should consider introducing new legislation that would see larger kids taught in isolation from their thinner classmates.

Deputy wellbeing chairman for the Local Government Association, Richard Kemp CBE, suggested 'football for the obese' after talking to an overweight child in Liverpool.

Richard claimed that one of the biggest problems with getting overweight children to engage with physical education is because they are 'ashamed' to exercise with classmates.

'I was talking to a child the other day who just will not do PE now because he is ashamed of his own body.

'One of the problems is that all our experience shows that children who are already obese stay away from school sports and fitness activities because they are ashamed of their bodies.'

The councillor explained that they were considering a pilot scheme in Liverpool where obese children would begin in separate classes in order to lose weight before being reintroduced to the 'normal' class.

Richard said; 'Common sense says if you are overweight and there's a fit young person pedalling away on the exercise bike next to you don't really feel that comfortable.'

The new two-tier classes would be funded by George Osborne's sugar tax, which was announced last week.

The money raised by the levy on fizzy drinks is being ring-fenced for new sports facilities and programs aimed exclusively at children in a bid to reduce the impact of the obesity epidemic on the NHS.

Richard explained; 'I believe we need to target the money to prevention but also then taking the obese kids out and doing things for them, swimming lessons for the obese, football for the obese, etc to get them to a level where they are not ashamed of themselves so they can join in with normal activity.'

He concluded; 'Elasticated waistbands are becoming increasingly common so everyone is getting bigger as we are becoming a waddling not a walking country.'

GoodtoKnow

Trusted, informative, and empathetic – GoodToKnow is the ultimate online destination for mums. Established in 2007, our 15-year-strong archive of content includes more than 18,000 articles, 1,500 how-to videos, and 7,000 recipes.