The size of school dinners in one Black Country borough could be reduced because too many youngsters are overweight or obese, it was revealed today.

Reception class pupils in Walsall are served the same size portions as those of 11 year olds. Now it is planned to reduce both the size of the meals and the price for younger children.

A special group has been set up to come up with ways to crackdown on childhood obesity following an “alarming rise in the number of overweight children in Walsall”.

There are more than 720 reception-age children who are overweight and obese in the borough and more than 1,000 Year 6 pupils.

The working group has now come up with a number of recommendations to tackle the problem and will present the findings to a meeting of Walsall Council’s children’s and young people scrutiny panel on Thursday.

As well as reducing portion sizes, other solutions include appointing a health governor at each school, education and health bosses being alerted when a planning application is submitted for a takeaway in the vicinity of a school and parents coming into schools to taste meals.

Councillor Eddie Hughes, chairman of the children’s and young people scrutiny and performance panel, said: “The figures we had for obesity were worrying.

“We need to ensure they are getting appropriate food, in terms of both the quantity and also the quality of it.”

He added there was a need to look at a number of aspects such as eating, exercise and proper education of weight issues.

A report to council bosses also reveals that some parents are resistant to the idea of healthy school lunches and there was evidence of mums and dads pushing chips through school gates to their children.

It reads: “The working group agreed that it would be important to educate parents.

“The working group heard that parents are currently charged the same amount for school meals from ages four to 11, with the children being served the same portion size.

“The group felt it would be important for four year olds to be served a smaller portion size to ensure they do not overeat.”