Deakin University’s Global Obesity Centre has put forward the plan to a Senate inquiry tasked with tackling Australia’s obesity problem.

If the idea was introduced, all children would be weighed privately by a clinician every two years, unless their parents opted out.

The professor who pitched the proposal, Steven Allender, has argued that the data would help reveal the scale of the country’s battle with the bulge.

Dietitian Claire Ward said provided the children’s weight is kept confidential the data collection idea seems fairly harmless.

“Childhood obesity is a big problem in the Central West, bigger than other areas in the state,” Mrs Ward said.

“If no one is making comment and the numbers are anonymously used for research I think it’s valid.”

From her office at Woodward Street’s RPT Health Group, Mrs Ward sees children as young as eight years old on a weekly basis and says weighing them is often part of the treatment.

To prevent them from developing a preoccupation with the number on the scales – which she said isn’t always an indication of obesity anyway – they are shielded from the results.

“Obesity isn’t always measured by BMI (Body Mass Index), body composition, age and gender all need to be taken into account,” she said.

“I guarantee if one of my big rugby clients jumped on the scales they’d be classified as ‘obese’ when they’re obviously not.”

Mrs Ward said childhood obesity should be treated like any other disease, with parental prevention a priority.