Kids Get Graded on Obesity

Though Controversial, BMI Screenings for Children Increasingly Common
By Olivia Gage,  Newser User
Posted Apr 9, 2007 12:08 PM CDT

School nurses in six states are now sending out "obesity report cards,"  giving parents the results of mandatory Body Mass Index screenings of their children.
With the number of overweight kids quadrupling over the last 40 years, advocates aim to detect health issues early. But not all parents are thrilled with the information.

Some consider the calculations an attack on children's self-image.  "You're going to put another label on a kid," Wendy Cramer of the Renfrew Center, a treatment facility for eating disorders, told the Inquirer. "I definitely worry about what's going to happen when this gets to high school." In Pennsylvania, that will be this fall. (More childhood obesity stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X