Last night, Channel Nine’s ‘A Current Affair’ screened a story about a 6 year old girl, Bianca, who was sent home with a note from kindergarten stating that her BMI was high, advising her Mother, Jodie, to consult a dietician. Her Mother had no idea Bianca was being weighed & measured & so you can imagine the correspondence came as quite a rude shock. Even ruder, is the blatant, in your face, totally obvious fact that Bianca is not overweight. She’s not even close. Click on the picture of Bianca below to see the clip yourself.
Why is this even still happening when there is ample evidence & expert opinion that clearly tells us BMI testing in schools does not work? Try here, here & here for further information.
Not only is the BMI an insufficient method of measuring health in a child – the medical profession’s reliance on it as a measure of health in adults is now also seriously in question. As outlined in the story, the BMI would be claiming some of our strongest & fittest footballers as not only overweight – but obese. This is completely ridiculous & a strong sign that the moral panic about the so-called ‘obesity crisis’ has gotten completely out of control.
There is regular talk about this all being about the health & wellbeing of children & young people, but I smell a rat. One of Australia’s leading obesity experts, Dr Jenny O’Dea stated just last month:
The Executive Chair of The Butterfly Foundation, Claire Vickery, chimes in:
For anyone that may not know, this childs reported behaviour is a breeding ground for a potential lifetime of soul destroying dieting, low self esteem, negative body image, disordered eating & an eating disorder. This, & Bianca’s story, should serve as a warning to all Australian state & territory governments that use BMI testing in schools. Please stop, review & develop some common sense before the situation we have with children & young people having questioning, negative & even tortured relationships with their bodies, spirals completely out of control.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Good grief. As what age do we want to start giving people body image complexes??
Argh! There are so many frustrating things about this article, starting with that little girl looks happy and healthy, so WHY label her with something that is so stigmatized (and shouldn't be!)?!
Also, I just really don't think it's a school's right to measure their students as protocol. If there is a concern about a specific student's health, that is the school nurse's and/or doctor's responsibility to handle confidentially, sensitively, and personally. BMI measurements (any measurement of weight/size for that matter) are only useful if they are taken into consideration on an individual level, rather than some "standard", and done by a doctor/nutritionist/nurse who has a true understanding of an individual's make up, background, nutritional habits, health, etc., etc.
Elisa – your question is such a good one. Anyone that thinks that children as young as Bianca are not developing body image concerns needs to wake up very quickly – because they certainly are.
Sayhealth – I'm in total agreeance. When did schools become the 'Fat Police?' It's all just gotten way out of hand & Bianca's story is a clear example of that.
If you look at ACT Health policy who did this screening, it was done by nurses who had a VALID consent signed by this mother, this mother has failed to say that she consented to this test on her daughter. It was part of a overall screening process that also checked the childs hearing, eyesight and gait. The letter sent home never said the child was fat, it just stated that the child was potentially at risk of issues later on in life. The mother should be ashamed of herself as she is the one dragging her daugher onto national TV talking about the childs weight, Shame on the mother.
Hi Anonymous – Thanks for your comment. That is incredibly interesting as the Mother was so adamant she knew nothing about the testing. The paperwork screened on the program did state that Bianca's BMI was high & this appears to be where the concern has arisen from.
The letter sent home to the childs mother simply stated that although the BMI was classed as high it was a SCREENING tool and that it does not say the child is fat, just that the parent should be aware that there could be issues later in life and that if and only if the mother was concerned then there are several sources of information in ACT Health that she could access. It must also be noted that at NO time during the screening process is any child told their weight or height or anyone elses. The only way that a child could find out if their bmi was high or low was if their parents told them. No child does has this testing without a VALID signed consent, which is sent home with a letter that very clearly states what will be done during the testing. This mother needs to read what she signs and if she does not want this testing done, then she should not return the consent for it to be done. Has anyone thought of all the parents who this testing was a wake up call as to their childs weight, be it over or under the normal ranges. If one parent stops to think that they could make some changes to their childs diet and health, then surely this is a good thing. Have any of you seen a kinder child unable to get off the floor as they are too large, well I have and there are a lot of them out there. So sad, and if we dont help them now, what future do they have.
When does common sense come into play here, no matter what the letter said, if this mother thought that her daughter was fine then disregard the letter. It is a SCREENING tool not a full medical exam, just a quick check to give parents a idea as to how their child is growing.
Anonymous – Having worked with children & young people for over a decade I have seen overweight children & I have also had the terrible experience of watching more than one child die from anorexia nervosa not much older than Bianca. Just wished to post that in answer to your question as I always promised myself on 'Beautiful You' that if someone asked a question I would try to answer it if I could.
As for your question about the screenings being a 'wake up call' to some parents, I cannot answer that without knowing if that is actually happening ie. the testing is prompting parents to make changes. It would be very interesting to see research or results published that showed the outcomes of the screenings. Thanks for adding to the debate.
Well I think that it is making a difference, ACT Health is seeing a incresed demand for classes and information from parents and have i know several parents who have been extremely grateful for the nonjudgemental approach to helping with their child and their own weight problems. Often if a family makes changes for the children it has a carry on effect for the whole family.