A young mum was left furious after her four-year-old daughter was branded overweight in a letter sent home from school.
Laura Ormesher says she received the note about her little girl Maggie after Cobbs Brow Primary School carried out Body Mass Index (BMI) weight check on pupils.
The mum-of-three says her daughter is an 'active' child who attends dancing every week and was recently crowned the 'petite' Lancashire winner 'Miss Diamond UK', a national pageant celebrating diversity.
After posting about the incident on social media, 32-year-old Laura found that several other parents had faced the same ordeal with their own children.
She told LancsLive : “We got a letter home saying she’s overweight – I put a post up on Facebook and it turns out a lot of kids all over the country got this letter saying they’re overweight."
"It’s nothing to do with school - a lot of parents had it and had received letters; one was from South Wales and some were from London area and all over the place. Our letter was addressed to the parent or guardian of Maggie, and it said she was overweight according to their test."
However, health bosses in Lancashire say the measure is just one of the services they provide to help to ensure young people maintain a healthy weight and have an active start to life and is one of a number of indicators of people's health.
They say every case is different and they'd encourage any parents with concerns to contact their school nursing teams for help and support.
Lauren said: "I was quite shocked as she’s a very healthy child and to see the word “overweight“ seemed crazy. Then I felt angry at the damage a letter like this could do to such young children."
The body mass index (BMI) is a measure that uses height and weight to work out if a person's weight is healthy, according to the NHS.
The letter received by Lauren is from from the Lancashire Healthy Young People and Families' Service, run by HCRG Care Group, which says its school nursing service carries out the National Child Measurement Programme and School Health Needs Assessments, in addition to issuing advice on health issues for children and older teenagers.
Now Lauren has started a petition online calling for an end to BMI checks in this way, due to concerns that the letters could lead to parents restricting their children’s diets or children developing mental health issues or eating disorders.
She said: “My concern was that some parents might put their kids on a diet and eating disorders, and all the stress that this entails.
“Maggie is quite active - she goes Morris dancing once a week, and she's not overweight or anything in the slightest. It’s about spreading awareness.
“A lot of people are not happy with the BMI weight checks. There are alternative methods of keeping children healthy rather than weight checking them.
“The BMI method measures your weight against your height. Most medical professionals will say it’s not accurate; it’s quite damaging really - they’re telling healthy children that they are overweight or obese.
“A lot of parents are getting concerned, especially with Year 6 children who are old enough to understand. One child who’s had a letter is a gymnast; it’s a bit concerning that they are still using that method.
“The end goal is to stop it completely. If they’re going to do health checks it needs reform. They need to get rid of the inaccuracy of it.
“If a child is clearly very overweight and having health issues due to that, it should be dealt with on an individual basis. Being severely overweight can be just as dangerous.
“These methods that are used aren't going to identify children who are severely overweight; it’s just going to cause children to have issues with themselves.I think a lot of people’s concern was eating disorders and depression, stemming from being referred for being overweight when they’re not.
“It causes the parents stress as well, if they feel they’ve failed as a parent and their child is fine. It only takes one parent to say let’s put you on a diet and that diet culture can put a child into thinking that that’s a normal way to live. You have children with eating disorders and it isn’t a good way for a child to feel healthy.
“I don’t want to equate being healthy with going on a diet and this will definitely have an effect on their mental health. It was quite overwhelming that most parents felt the same way, that they do not feel like the BMI weighing is something that they want their children to have in school.”
Mum to three children, Maggie, four, Molly, two, and Nathan, 12, Lauren lives in Birch Green and is a fully trained pharmaceutical dispenser.
Calling for an end to BMI methods of weighing children in school, in a post entitled ‘bye bye BMI,’ she posted on Facebook: “In reception and year 6 the kids are given inaccurate BMI checks that don’t take muscle or bone density into account and letters are sent to parents regarding the outcome!
“I received a letter telling me my perfectly healthy four year old was overweight. Maggie has lots of hobbies, eats healthy and does daily exercise appropriate for a child such as walks and playing.
“Eating disorders can start in a child as young as 6! Asking parents to put their young child on a diet is not healthy physically or mentally!"
“Offering healthy living advice for children who may need healthier options is fine but I believe the weight check itself should be accurate !” A Facebook poll in response, asking parents whether they were in favour of BMI checks in schools created by Ashurst Independent Councillor James Upjohn showed 930 people out of a total of 1026 people who voted were against, 71 were in favour and 11 were unsure.
Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, Lancashire County Council's director of public health, said: "The National Child Measurement Programme is part of the Government's plans to improve young people's wellbeing and gather data relating to their health. We commission HCRG to deliver the programme in Lancashire.
"This is one of the services we provide to support the families of 0 to 19-year-olds, which help to ensure young people maintain a healthy weight and have an active start to life. Body Mass Index (BMI) is one of a number of indicators of people's health, but every case is different and we'd encourage any parents with concerns to contact their school nursing teams for help and support."
A spokesperson for HCRG Care Group said: “The National Childhood Measurement Programme is a national scheme which we deliver in Lancashire on behalf of Lancashire County Council. As part of the programme, we write to parents whose children the programme identifies are either under or overweight for their age, sex and height to access to free support and guidance.
“Whilst we do understand it can be upsetting for parents to hear that their child has been measured and identified as overweight or underweight against the national target range, we hope they appreciate the information is intended to help identify where positive changes can be made and provide the support to make those changes.”
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