Entry 4 September 23, 2013

'Fat letters' from school to parents are wrong

September 23, 2013
CNN News

Elementary schools in 19 states in America have just recently decided that letters will be sent home to parents identifying their child's BMI - body mass index.  They have hired dietitians to take the weight and height of students in order to provide this calculation.  Students are rated on the following scale: underweight, healthy weight, overweight and obese.  The issue with BMI is that  it does not tell the difference between muscle and fat.  There is a debate over whether this is an accurate measure at all of a healthy weight. Parents are concerned about how this will affect their child's self esteem and how other's will view them.  They are also wondering what business this is of the school's.  The students themselves vary between not caring and taking this very personally.

My opinion is that I don't believe it should be the schools deciding whether a student is obese or a healthy weight.  They should be more focused on the learning environment and activities to assist students in getting their daily exercise.  A child's weight should be managed by their doctor with parent involvement only.  Also I think by doing this there will be a higher risk for children wanting to diet, binge eat, or starve themselves. It is well known that America does have a high child obesity rate but I think this approach is a bit over the top by having the focus of weight be brought into the schools.