Validity of Scottish predictors of child obesity (age 12) for risk screening in mid-childhood: a secondary analysis of prospective cohort study data-with sensitivity analyses for settings without various routinely collected predictor variables.

Universally collected, machine readable and linkable data at age 5-6 predict reasonably well children who will be obese by age 12. However, the Scottish treatment system is unable to cope with the resultant referral burden and other criteria for screening would have to be met.