Several states now send home “weight report cards” to parents. The school reports the child’s body mass index and informs parents if their child is considered underweight, normal-weight, overweight or obese. The note home also includes nutritional tips and guidelines. Parents around the country are fuming! Should schools get involved in this arena? Is it appropriate for a parent to receive such a letter?
In my opinion, the answer is YES!
Quite honestly, I don’t understand what all the uproar is about. The information is completely confidential and parents can do with it what they please.
Studies show that the majority of parents of overweight children fail to recognize that their kids are overweight. And if they don’t realize that their children are at medical risk due to their weight, they will not take the appropriate steps to help them.
A 2007 study from the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital found that only 13 percent of parents with obese children ages 6 to 11 rated their child as being very overweight, compared with 31 percent of parents with obese children ages 12 to 17. And, less than 10 percent of parents with obese children ages 6 to 11 said they were “very concerned” about their child’s weight.
One out of every three children in this country is overweight and at risk for medical disease. Our children are developing medical conditions that used to be seen solely in adults. And according to the CDC, this generation of children will be the first to die younger than its parents. We clearly need to do something to help these overweight children.
Some parents are concerned about the cost of such a program. School budgets are already stretched thin. Parents are complaining that this program is simply an unnecessary expense.
Schools have always mandated that doctors send them information on each students height and weight. So they have had this information but have not done anything with it! The only change is informing the parents of the results. The cost of this program is truly nominal!
Eating disorder activists worry that this program will cause overweight children to develop disordered eating. But studies show that if you treat an overweight child in a sensitive manner and give them the necessary tools to lose weight, you actually DECREASE the incidence of disordered eating. These children are at a MUCH higher risk of medical disease from being overweight than they are of developing an eating disorder. The key is to handle the situation appropriately. That is why schools are not giving the information directly to the child. Nobody is telling a student that he/she is overweight. The school is simply giving the parents the information along with some nutritional guidelines. It is then up to the parent to handle the situation appropriately.
We are in the midst of an obesity epidemic that is shortening the life span of our children. As a society, we need to do everything we can to help the each child of the next generation live as long and as healthy a life as possible. I believe that informing parents, who may be unaware, that their children are overweight will help. When it comes to a child’s health, ignorance is definitely not bliss!
Tags: child diet, Child Obesity, child weight gain, diet, obese, obese baby, obese child, obese toddler, obesity, overweight child, overweight toddler, parenting, schools, weight gain
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My gut reaction is that schools should not be involved in raising children this way. However, if parents aren’t doing it, someone needs to for the health of the children. I think that if schools combined this measure with offering seminars on how to approach the issue sensitively it could have a positive impact.
If schools begin such a measure, I think that they should also increase the amount of physical education to include more activity and nutrition education. I have played sports year round all my life, and still I thought it was absurd that only two PE credits were required to graduate from high school. Nothing is being done in school to promote a healthy lifestyle as of now, and schools need to do something.
I agree that schools need to do more! But at least this is a start. Do you know that studies show that the average number of physical exercise the average student gets during P.E. class is 3 minutes. 3 minutes of vigorous exercise. It’s ridiculous. And schools need to change the foods that they offer kids. But that’s another blog post…
Thanks for writing.
You’ve constructed a good supportive argument of this emerging trend. I agree that providing supportive education and encouragement to an overweight child can be effective however, an impersonal BMI reading and negative judgement about a kid’s personal characteristics is hardly supportive. Additionally,
1. Not only does the CDC recommend that we avoid labeling children and adolescents as obese, but also that we should focus instead on their health and physical abilities, reinforce healthy eating and encourage regular physical activity.
2. BMI requires the assumption that all individuals with the same BMI have the same amount of fat, which is a weak assumption, especially in children & adolescents. BMI:Fat ratios differ between sex, race & age and for that reason, if BMI is chosen as a measure, it should be plotted using the CDC’s BMI-for-Age Growth Charts.
Finally, there is no doubt that children & adolescents are facing serious threats to their health, especially those carrying excess weight. But, overweight & obesity are outcomes of sedentarism and excess nutritional intake; schools, by cutting phys. ed. and serving nutritionally bankrupt lunches, have played a major hand in creating those behaviors. A weight report card is hypocritical and inappropriate.
Thanks for your insightful and provocative post.
Thanks for your comment. I think part of the issue is thinking of weight and obesity as a ‘personal characteristic’ as opposed to a medical health risk. That being said, I absolutely agree that schools could (and should!) be doing much more to help prevent weight gain in children. According to the AAP, children whose weight is over the 95% should be classified as obese. I do understand that the word obese has negative connotations. I think that is part of the reason that the notes get sent home to parents and not given to the kids. And I should have been more clear that they are basing their assessments on the BMI percentile, as plotted using the CDC’s BMI-for-age and gender growth charts, not simply on the BMI. Thanks again for your comment. I love a good debate!
Our school sends home a Health report card on how they did on a physical fitness test. It gives suggestions on how to help your child in an area where they are not on target. Example, my daughter did not do well on an arm strength test, so a few exercises were given. They give good health guidelines (diet, exercise…). There is section on body fat or weight (don’t remember the wording, but done very tastefully and pc). My kids all are low body fat and were rated in an unhealthy catagory. It’s a good heads up. I feel the way they did it was VERY responsible and helpful! We switched back to whole milk and non fat ice cream… they haven’t gained any weight, but I have!!
BTW, my kids have always scored really low on where they should be percentage wise, their pediatrician is not at all concerened.
I do not believe this should be in the school system. And I feel very strongly about this.
If the government wants to insure a child’s health, there should be a mandatory ruling that all children have pediatricians and see them yearly. Make it the doctors’ job to work in a confidential way with child/parents. My daughter has been ridiculed because she is heavier than others….only by 10-15 pounds but enough that when they graphed children’s weight as part of a math ‘learn-to-graph’ lesson, she outright lied so no one would know her weight. She’s very honest and still, a year later, is upset that she lied. But she did not want everyone knowing her weight.
Similarly, her best friend has trouble gaining weight and is underweight by about 20 lbs. She has lied to tell people she weighs more….because she too is embarrassed of her slight weight.
Even though this program assumes to be ‘confidential’, I have volunteered enough in the school system to know that it will leak out. Parents will talk and compare, children will compare, and then…..they will talk about those that are above or below the expected weight. This will do nothing to help motivate healthier lifestyles – it will only add to the “Keeping up with the Joneses” lifestyle that so many people do.
If the school wants to take on HEALTH vs. weight, I believe a better course of action would be to start nutrition lessons at a very young age. Help children understand about fats (good and bad), carbohydrates, proteins, and what the body needs to be a good soccer/baseball/lacrosse player…. Information is key – but make it information that all can and will use.
I am shocked that your school would ask the students for their weights as part of a learn-to-graph exercise. That is completely inappropriate. If I were you, I would have called the school and let them have it! Talk about unacceptable! And I love the idea of mandatory pediatrician’s visits- although not all students have health insurance. But that is another story. In terms of the confidentiality, it is up to the parents not to talk and compare. But I do see your point! I wish there were a simple answer to help our children. Schools are doing more these days in terms of nutrition lessons. In fact, many of my friends are complaining that it is too much. I am sure you can guess how I feel about that. Thanks for your comment.
Thanks for your comment. You can see that feelings about this are very mixed!
great post hope to see some additional comments next Tuesday…kisses
I love it! That is way cool man! The steps weren’t that complicated too, which is great.
I really like your blog! You write some really wonderful articles. Thanks they are a great help!
da best. Keep it going! Thank you
Original post by Dmitri Gromov
Hi. I like the way you write. Will you post some more articles?
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