Thousands of kids as young as 4 damned by government as fat in letters sent to parents, Fabulous reveals
THOUSANDS of school kids as young as four have been shamed as “overweight” or “obese” by government bosses already this academic year, Fabulous can reveal.
A Freedom of Information request to every council in the UK revealed at least 5,000 mums, dads and carers had since September received letters telling them their child was “overweight” or “very overweight” – the clinical term for obese.
Generally the weigh-ins, which only impact reception kids (age four and five) and year sixes (age 10 and 11), take place early in the school year which runs from September to September and the government releases national statistics in November.
But early data, obtained by Fabulous, show close to 5,000 parents so far this academic school year have received the letters.
In Lancashire 852 reception children and 2,410 year six kids had so far been classed as “above a healthy weight” and received letters, the local council told Fabulous.
In North Yorkshire 336 reception kids and 688 year six had received the same letter, the council revealed.
In Kent they have been running a programme since January this year and so far letters had been sent to the parents or carers of 172 reception kids and 477 year six kids.
Other councils either didn’t reply or said it was too early to provide 2023 figures.
But based on 2021/2022 figures more than one in five kids aged four-five (22.3%) and more than one in three aged 10-11 years (37.8%) are overweight or living with obesity, according to the scheme’s remit.
This is based on BMI: height versus weight.
This, the FoI request revealed, included in the academic year 2021/2022 324 reception children and 836 year six children in Worcestershire.
The equivalent figures in Devon included 794 reception children and 1,718 year six children who were above a healthy weight.
Children whose parents receive the letters are informed of their kid’s weight to raise awareness and typically offer nutritional advice.
The weigh-ins are organised by The National Childhood Measurement Programme (NCMP), which is overseen nationally by the government.
On the government’s Office for Home Improvement and Disparities page they said the aim was to stop kids suffering problems later in life.
Very overweight children are also more likely to suffer from dental caries, type 2 diabetes, breathing difficulties and bone and joint problems and experience mental health problems such as depression, poor mental well-being, bullying and weight stigma
The Office for Home Improvement and Disparities
“Children identified as very overweight are more likely to be ill, be absent from school due to illness, experience health-related limitations and require more medical care than children identified as a healthy weight,” the page said.
“Very overweight children are also more likely to suffer from dental caries, type 2 diabetes, breathing difficulties and bone and joint problems and experience mental health problems such as depression, poor mental well-being, bullying and weight stigma.
“Additionally, children living with obesity are five times more likely to become adults living with obesity.”
Hair stylist and cleaning business owner Karla Fisher, 31, from Bradford was horrified when her daughter, reception pupil Freya Wilson, was weighed earlier this academic year.
However mums, including Karla Fisher, 31, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, who received a letter in January about her daughter Freya, four, said it led to kids being made to feel insecure about their eating.
“I felt like she was being fat shamed, ” she told Fabulous.
Hope Virgo, founder of anti-dieting group Dump the Scales, said: “This scheme has the potential to do more harm than good.
“I have seen first hand the damage that has been caused by it when I go into schools. Kids telling me that they got weighed and their weight was XXX and now feel they need to change something about them.
What is BMI and why are people critical of it?
Body Measure Index (BMI) is calculated by dividing a person’s weight (in kilograms) by the square of their height (in metres).
According to the NHS, for children and young people aged two to 18, the BMI calculator takes into account age and gender as well as height and weight.
The BMI calculator works out if a child or young person is:
- underweight – on the 2nd centile or below
- healthy weight – between the 2nd and 91st centiles
- overweight – 91st centile or above
- very overweight – 98th centile or above
‘Centile’ just means the percentage groups people can be divided by. E.g. ‘You are among the 98th biggest person among a group of 100’.
But there are a lot of critics of using BMI as a form of measurement, both among children and adults.
For example people say it doesn’t reflect things like height – taller children will of course weigh more.
And muscle mass weighs a lot – so muscular children and adults will weigh more than their peers.
Generally (especially as adults) men weigh more than women.
And it doesn’t consider things like bone density.
“We need to scrap the NCMP. Weight does not determine the health of an individual, we need to live away from a one size fits all model around weight.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “The programme helps to inform action taken at both a local and national level to improve the health of all children and promote a healthier weight.
“Our approach to the programme is reviewed every year, in consultation with a wide range of experts, as well as children and families, school-nurses and headteachers.
“Providing parents with their child’s results is not compulsory and local authorities can choose if and how to notify parents.”
The local authorities were contacted for a response and had not provided one at the time of going to press.