to be absolutely furious to receive a letter from the LA informing me my daughter is overweight

[fuckadoodledo]

They were all weighed at school a few weeks ago,I thought for a confidential survey, but I've received a useless patronising letter informing me cheerily she is in the overweight group, with a ridiculous flyer asking "Hands up who wants healthy kids??"
My daughter is TEN, her body is in complete changeover from puberty she's solidly built but not fat, and I already spend too much time reassuring her she is NOT fat.
My DS in London's son has also been weighed, How many millions must this pointless exercise have cost? And to what purpose???
She would be absolutely devastated to be told she is officially overweight....

My son recieved a similar letter in primary 1. Intially I was shocked and horrified, how dare they say my son is fat I thought, he is just a bit chubby.

But the more I thought, and looked at him the more I realised that yes he actually is fat. I found it was a really difficult thing to admit - my son was fat and it is my fault for feeding him/letting him eat to much crap. And looking in the mirror I could see that it was not only him that was fat...

So I stopped buying biscuits and cakes and sweets. I stopped frying things, stopped using oil (use spray oil), stopped adding butter to things. A year and a bit later he is not only taller and thinner, but probably lighter than he was. Jeans that previously were too small at the waist now hang off him (though are too short now). And i'm slimmer too!

I think that receiving that letter that day was the best thing that happened. It made me face up to the fact and try and do something about his weight before it became an issue for him. Nobody wants to be the fat kid.

Fabby - you either must have a charmed life if overweight children are your worst nightmare or weight issues of your own.

Being overweight can be corrected, my own worst nightmare would be something more along the lines of a terminal illness.

This thread is depressing.

The kid is not fat. She is pre pubescent. If you want to put her 'fatness' into perspective she is the same size as kylie minogue.

My foster dd suddenly went square around the chest and belly area aged 10.5, her arms and legs remained like twigs.

She hit puberty and 18 months later she is an adult size 6-8, her waist has lost the barrel look and she's 3 inches taller with skinny size 6 feet.

She eats NO differently to 18 months ago, I prepare all her food, she eats more now she's taller.

It's perfectly normal not to see a pre pubescent girls ribs for a year, you can count them now.

Do nothing, say nothing and be quietly annoyed as it's likely ridiculous. Reassess once through puberty.

Tanso she is very skinny and I think she has an eating disorder. It is not healthy. I'm not saying the weigh ins at school caused it but it sure did not help.

She actually did swimming which can bulk up your shoulders and was not fat but was more developed that other girls her age because of her swimming, nevertheless she was categorised as far. Lots of female athletic types are mocked due to their body.

Fabychic just loving your big generalisations about obese people not caring about how the look and the no excuse for fat. And you know all this because you are on your way to losing 3 stone?

Do yourself a favour and read Fast Food Nation.

Sorry my sister was catergorised as FAT not FAR.

I don't see who weighins help. They are just a bolt on. IF schools still sell rubbish food and kids are stuck inside all day then kids are going to get fat.

Re Puppy Fat

Puppy fat 'myth' risking health

A poor diet is one factor which affects teens' weight
"Puppy fat" can have lifelong health implications and should not be dismissed as a temporary childhood problem, experts warn.
A Cancer Research study found more than a quarter of schoolchildren are overweight or obese by the age of 11.

The British Medical Journal study looked at over 5,000 children and found few who were overweight at 11 were a healthy weight by the age of 16.

Experts said it was essential children learnt healthy habits early.

This study shows that a worryingly high number of children as young as 11 have already established a pattern of weight gain that can lead to health problems, including cancer, in later life

Professor John Toy, Cancer Research UK
The study of children, all at school in London, found 29% of 11-year-old girls could be classed as overweight or obese, compared to 20% of boys.

The figures were virtually the same when the children were followed up at the age of 16.

Few pupils gained unhealthy amounts of weight between the ages of 11 and 16.

But equally, few of the children who were already obese or overweight dropped to a healthy weight during those years.

Advice to parents

The report also found that black girls were taller and heavier and had a larger waist circumference at the age of 11 than either white or Asian girls.

Among boys, those of Asian background were more likely to be overweight or obese than other groups but not by any significant amount.

Among pupils from more deprived backgrounds, 31% were overweight or obese at age 11.

Professor Jane Wardle, of Cancer Research UK's heath behaviour unit who led the study, said: "We have to abandon the idea that so called puppy fat doesn't matter and that it will just disappear when a child grows up.

"The evidence shows that children who are overweight or obese when they start secondary school at 11 are likely to leave education in the same condition.

"This means it is vital we work at preventing obesity in early childhood."

She added: "We know that overweight and obese children are most likely to continue carrying too much weight when they become adults and this will substantially increase their cancer risk as they grow older."

Professor Wardle advised parents whose teenage child was significantly overweight should handle the issue in a sensitive way, avoiding criticism and focussing on concerns over future weight gain rather than their existing weight.

She also said making healthy eating easier at home could help adolescents.

Healthy habits

Professor John Toy, medical director of Cancer Research UK, said: "We know that being overweight or obese increases the risk of cancer in adulthood.

"This study shows that a worryingly high number of children as young as 11 have already established a pattern of weight gain that can lead to health problems including cancer in later life."

He added: "It is essential that we help parents to learn about the importance of cultivating healthy eating habits in children to give them the best possible start in life.

"A good diet includes plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and high fibre foods like wholemeal bread.

"It is also important to encourage children to take regular exercise. Playing sports or running in the park are healthier occupations than playing computer games."

I pulled my dd2 out of this test/weighing, dd1 was to old and this type of weighing hadn't started.

I didn't want my dd2 part of a test of size etc and prfered therefore to take her out all together, I don't trust any goverenment on this and want her to not be followed through life.
my dd2 is 5f4 aged 12 and 7stone. As she swims and runs and cycles and plays badmington, netball and table tennis she is very active getting around 10 hours of training in per week - there is virtually no fat on her. Her weight gives her a BMI of just under 17 if she was adult - she is taller than the average adult female in the UK which is 5f3"

There have been some interesting programmes about this on radio 4 in the last year.

The problem is that many parents just don't see that their child is over-weight because compared to their peers they look similar but unfortunately a lot of them are also overweight.

I know my eldest child is very skinny but my middle child is solid albeit only 3 at the moment. But I suspect I will have to closely monitor his diet as he gets older as he simply is a very different build to his older brother.

I'd just perhaps think about your DD's diet and keep an eye on her weight in a low-key way which I'm sure you're doing anyway.

what exercise does your dd do, op? if it's just school pe and she's fairly sedentary, maybe encourage her to be a bit more active (which is, after all, the point of the leaflet...)
i wouldn't look on it as a gross insult, i'd just check she has an active life, a healthy diet, and keep a watching eye. the whole scheme is just about increasing activity in an age where school playing fields have been built on, and kids go home and sit in front of the tv/ x-box. as long as dd goes home and rides her bike, or goes to dance classes, or swims, or whatever, then by all means chalk it up to big bones or puberty.

no drama.

this is why i don't like statistics. but in this instance it is a reasonable nudge for parents to take an impartial look at their child's lifestyle, i think. you don't have to do anything about it (and lots won't) but it's just a reminder.

"The kid is not fat. She is pre pubescent. If you want to put her 'fatness' into perspective she is the same size as kylie minogue."

The BMI compares against other children her exact age so therefore takes into account prebuscence etc

We had this letter last week and it wasn't even correct.

DS1's centile was overweight yet they claimed in the letter that he was clinically obese which didn't tie up at all to the chart they give you with it. I am not denying he is overweight and that he is fat (on top of being big framed - he is just over 5ft tall and has broad shoulders and large feet) but you would at least think they would get the letters factually correct.

I also find the use of centiles dubious. Comparing a child with his or her peers tells you nothing really.

Looking at a child is far more reliable measure of whether their individual weight is in proportion to their height and build.

Sorry but YABU.

'Solid' can turn into 'fat' and then 'obese' alarmingly quickly at your DD's age. I'm not saying that will happen, but it can. I have seen it happen with a family member and also a friend of DD's, both of whom had mothers who said their DCs were not overweight.

The letter may have been patronising to you but unfortunately some parents need to be patronised. In the case of the friend of DD, her mother cut out FRUIT from her diet as she said it made her 'bloat' - the child was clearly overweight and now as a 13 year old is enormous with rolls of fat hanging over her jeans.

As a nation we are facing an obesity epidemic. Childhood obesity has doubled in the last ten years.One in four children is now obese.

My sister who works in healthcare with kids says that so many of the overweight kids she sees have parents in denial about their kids weight, so I agree that sometimes it takes an outsider to point out this fact to the parent.

Why not just take a look at what your DD is eating and how much exercise she is doing - even if she is just solid now, you don't want that to spiral out of control, as I say I have seen it happen very quickly at that age.

I agree, don't show her the letter, don't even tell her it's an issue, just make some subtle changes to avoid possible problems later.

YABU

I was a fat child. In photos I look fat as a toddler and baby. I wish my parents had made my life easier as a child by better controlling what I ate and the exercise I got.

But my mum didn't really see anything wrong and used euphimisms such as puppy fat and being solidly built. I was fat.

I wouldn't tell her about the letter; but I would start making changes to her diet and exercise level so that she does become a healthy weight.

I have seen a number of articles in papers where parents complain that their children have been labelled overweight when they are not. In every single case there has been a photo of a fat child accompanying the article.

I do understand how when you are with someone all the time it can be difficult to see the truth. But as her mother I think you do need to face up to this.

My parents now have a very fat cat. My mum totally denies that her cat is fat.

A person can be heavy/solid and not be fat. My sister is 21 and is heavy. But it is all muscle and she is beautifully slim and perfectly proportioned. Other women might weigh less than her, but have rolls of fat, rather than being toned and strong.

The trouble with these judgements that are being made is that they don't take into account muscle and other variables. They are just standard letters that tend to get peoples backs up and don't offer any real help to those who might want it.

This worries me. I would refer to my DD as solid rather than fat as well, but now I wonder if I am deluding myself. She is tall for her age (11) and already has 7 1/2 feet but she has a 'body' iyswim. Some of her mates are also tall but have spaghetti legs and are half her size. She does like her food but she also gets plenty of exercise - she plays netball three or four times a week, does dancing once a week and horse rides once a week.

Aren't some people just different shapes? No matter how much weight I lost I would never have a figure like Kate Moss.

A 21 year old will have been through puberty and so will have more muscle development than a child and so can be heavier and still toned and slim.
A child doesn't generally have the same muscle development so the extra weight is fat not muscle.

Don't know. My DS(9) is skinny and solid. You can see his ribs, but he eats like a horse, doesn't sit still and weighs a ton!

Over 1 in 3 primary school children are overweight or obese OP and the figures are rising steadily. That is the point of the exercise, to make parents aware that not feeding their children properly and making sure they get the right amount of exercise, is likely to send them to an early grave.

Objecting to the Government raising awareness of it, is like objecting to them advising people not to smoke around children. It's madness and we are lucky to live in a country where they at least try to encourage the parents to do right by their children.

Perhaps if America had done this years ago, there wouldn't be so much morbid obesity there either.

Are the figures rights? With that height, a weight of 7 stones and a BMI in range... is there a mistake somewhere?

If you think it's wrong, OP, then challenge it by all means to get another opinion but you yourself said that your daughter is 'solid'.... how can that be with her height, weight and BMI as stated...? It doesn't really add up, does it?

I agree with the posters who suggest that for every parent who disagrees or keeps their head in the sand, there will be other parents who actually tackle the issue, so it's a good thing I think.

I agree with kerrianne. the point of the exercise is to raise awareness of the issue.

Its madness to object to something which can help so many people. yes there may be exceptions to the rule as with most rules, but we are talking about a nation of people

We have a letter today to say our kids are to be weighed. On the one hand, Im interested, because DS1 is an athlete, how they will take this into account. on the other, I wonder if I should opt out of this worthless exercise.

I seriously doubt they will factor in the fact that he has a six pack, swimmers shoulders, a bum you could bounce a coin off and not an ounce of fat on his body. But technically, he is "overweight" - in fact BMI is almost in the obese category. Its solid muscle.

It might be quite amusing to see how the categorise him.

hattifat, if he does go slightly over into "overweight" you will know that he is not. Simple. So you wont need to make any changes.

If you know he is so active and healthy then I guess it is a pointless exercise. To be honest though, the idea of weighing kids is there to help the unhealthy ones. But it is much fairer to weigh everyone rather than just pick out the tubby ones!

This is why the letter is sent to parents, not given to the kids. So they can judge for themselves

weightlifters are classed as overweight or obese. the BMI index is not perfect, it is a generalization. That said, it is accurate for a lot of people.

if you are in doubt/worried take her to your doctor and get her body fat measured or see a nutritionist

YANBU. My kids are both short and underweight for their age groups, I've tried everything to get them to put on weight, including feeding them with full-fat milk. I was accused of neglect by a nursery worker. I cook good meals and also give them junk from time to time in an effort to fatten them up. I love my kids and don't need the nanny state poking their noses in. Children inherit their stature and build from their parents. Their ancestors were all short and thin (the ones I know of).