Calling kids ‘overweight’ is fat-shaming, experts say

Labeling children as “overweight” is embarrassing and can do more harm than good, a study suggests.

The National Child Measurement Program (NCMP) causes anxiety and embarrassment in children during weigh-ins and often leads to teasing, the researchers found.

Instead of helping children lose weight, it has the potential to cause eating disorders and unhealthy dietary behaviors that are “much more dangerous than your own weight.”

Regulating the food industry or extending free school meals would be more beneficial in addressing the root cause, experts suggest.

The NCMP measures the height and weight of children when they start primary school, at age four or five, and again in year six, before moving on to secondary school, at age 11.

Nutritionist Aaron Nee slammed NHS BMI checks as “moron” after his skinny five-year-old son Jacob (left) was branded overweight, while Lauren Ormesher was furious after receiving a letter saying her Four-year-old daughter Maggie (right) was ‘overweight’

Their Body Mass Index (BMI) is calculated from the results that are sent to parents to inform whether their child has been categorized as ‘underweight’, ‘healthy weight’, ‘overweight’ or ‘very overweight’.

It provides key data on national levels of childhood obesity, with one in 10 now obese when they start primary school, rising to nearly one in four by the time they finish high school.

In the first study of its kind, researchers at Queen Mary University of London wanted to assess the impact the program had on children thought to be overweight.

They analyzed feedback from parents who were offered advice and support to achieve a healthy weight for their children, after they were classified as overweight or very overweight.

The analysis showed that these families expressed significant concerns about the potential for deleterious effects on their children’s mental health, with many saying it marked a tipping point in the child’s awareness of body weight, altering their relationship with food.

Children reported feeling anxiety and embarrassment about the weighing process, the outcome, and the potential for weight-related teasing, according to findings published in the Journal of Critical Public Health.

Parents expressed concern that the potential for future mental health disorders, eating disorders, and unhealthy eating behaviors was “much more dangerous than one’s own weight.”

They often mentioned the child’s happiness as their priority, and many admitted they ignored the findings.

The researchers found that being encouraged to lose weight, weight-related teasing and criticism had an impact on children’s self-perceptions and increased dysfunctional diets and eating behaviors.

Meredith Hawking, from Queen Mary University of London, said: “Many parents have legitimate concerns about the impact the National Child Measurement Scheme could have on children’s self-perceptions and eating practices as they grow older.”

“Further research is needed to understand whether these concerns hold long-term, and to find ways to mitigate them if the program continues.”

Jemma Fletcher criticized health chiefs after receiving a letter labeling her five-year-old daughter, Lily (left), as overweight last year and in 2018, Ariel Marsden was “appalled” when her four-year-old daughter, Belle (left), was also marked. over weight

He suggested that ministers need to act on the data provided by the NCMP and find new ways to tackle childhood obesity, which is particularly prevalent among the poorest communities.

It added: “Without meaningful regulation of the food industry or measures to address poverty, parents will not be supported in their efforts to help children live healthier lives.”

But Tam Fry, president of the National Obesity Forum, said measuring children’s weights was vital to detect potential future health problems.

He said the program was not intended to be a weight management program for children to receive expert medical help, but rather a statistical exercise to provide insight into a growing problem.

He said: ‘The current national child measurement program does not go far enough. We should measure children annually at school for medical reasons, which was recommended in 2004 by the Commons Health Select Committee.

‘Now, 18 years later, thousands of children and their parents continue to suffer with no sign of improving childhood obesity rates. It is a national disgrace.

It comes after a nutritionist last year criticized the NHS’s BMI checks as “moron” after his skinny five-year-old son was branded overweight.

Aaron Nee, from East Sussex, said his son Jacob, who “barely has an ounce of fat”, came home with a letter urging his parents to “make healthy changes”.

Other parents have shared similar concerns.