Mandatory weigh-ins are being considered to tackle a growing child obesity problem in Australia.

Shocking figures have shown how bad Australia’s obesity crisis is getting and there are now calls to make weigh-ins a compulsory part of primary school life.

The endocrinology department at Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital in Queensland recently held a presentation on Type II Diabetes.

Rapid weight-loss more effective for those watching the scales. (AAP) (AAP)

In it, they discussed the case of a nine-year-old Queensland boy who weighs an alarming 178 kilograms.

At six years old the boy already weighed 100 kilograms and had a body mass index (BMI) of 50.

A BMI of 40 is classified as morbidly obese.

Although excessive weight gain could be attributed to numerous endocrine and metabolic conditions, the nine-year-old’s case highlights the growing obesity problem in Australian kids.

New figures have found Australia is currently ranked sixth in the world’s overweight population and one in every four Australian children between the ages of five and 17 are considered obese.

The controversial proposal is to weigh and measure children and check their body mass index every two years during their time at primary school.

The proposal comes from the Global Obesity Centre which is trying to highlight how big a problem obesity is in Australia.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt confirmed he was considering the school weigh-in proposal and said “An early connection to sport can positively influence participation and encourage a lifelong love of sport and physical activity.”