Children will be asked to step on the scales as part of routine check-ups at NSW hospitals and doctors surgeries as part of the state government's commitment to reduce childhood obesity.
Hospitals and GP surgeries across the state have been asked by the NSW Health Department to use the opportunity when a child visits to check their health and fitness by weighing them and taking height measurements.
Doctors are also being asked to speak to parents about how much daily exercise their children are getting as the government continues to tackle childhood obesity.
If a serious problem is identified, a referral to a weight clinic will be offered where the parents will be asked to have a discussion with the child, a dietician and psychologist to get children's weight to a healthy range.
"When a young child comes in with their family - perhaps for a sore throat, speech pathology, some other program - make sure you weigh them, get their height, and have a discussion about weight," NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard told reporters on Friday.
"We're saying to the GPs, who are flat-out and doing a great job at the front line of the primary health network, just think about it."
The idea has been supported by the Australian Medical Association with NSW president Brad Frankum saying weighing patients regularly would be "just like taking their blood pressure".
"This is not about shaming children or their parents - this is about the prevention of health problems," Professor Frankum said in a statement.
"In this way, weighing someone and determining their BMI is just like taking someone's blood pressure."
Mr Hazzard dismissed reports that parents would be under tough scrutiny when it came to children's weight.
"We'll be working constructively and extremely earnestly with health practitioners to encourage families to understand the dangers of obesity and weight," he said.
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