Dear Jane, Your BMI is high!

Parents have a lot to worry about these days. In that spirit, we’ve been paying attention to Michele Obama’s "Let’s Move" anti-obesity campaign which has gotten off to (dare I say) a running start. This program is vast, for the most part intelligent and multi-directional.  But it seems that no one, except the eating disorder community, is worried about the real possibility that this focus on fat will result in more eating disorders (think bulimia and anorexia), not less.

My daughters are in 7^th grade and as a part of the childhood anti-obesity campaign, kids are now required to be weighed in gym.  At the end of the last school year, letters were sent home (and I quote verbatim, just changing the name):

  “Dear Jane, Your BMI is high. Talk to your teacher, parent, or doctor about how to improve your BMI.  Get more physical activity—at least 60 minutes most days.  Avoid sugary food and drinks.  Eat more fruits and vegetables.”

 The letter was scary enough in its Big Brother sensibility.  But that’s not the reason I am writing.  I am writing because in no less than four cases I heard about, these letters were sent to kids whose weights were completely normal-- or even skinny by anyone’s standards.  For these four girls, the recorded weights had been wrong to the tune of anywhere from 20 to 30 pounds!  It’s hard enough developing confidence as a pre-teen with a changing body (hard enough even as an adult) but can you imagine what it does to someone’s burgeoning self esteem to get a letter that says you are fat?  I wonder how many kids stood over a toilet bowl that night in June blaming it on the board of Ed?

 I’m grateful for the nation-wide wake up call with regard to concerns about healthy eating.  But the current approach needs to be seen as experimental, with some misguided first steps. There is too much focus on weight itself and very little appreciation for any emotional component having to do with unhealthy eating.  The focus for parents has been mostly on food and exercise.  The message needs to broader significantly, with the connection between eating and feelings better appreciated.  The potential shift to bulimia or anorexia as a solution to obesity cannot be underestimated. Parents need to know how to watch for damaging turns in a child’s eating behaviors and they need to know what to do if they suspect a problem is in the making.  Obesity is not the only epidemic plaguing our children.

 Parents need to be more involved when there are direct communications to kids about their weight (if these communications to kids are to continue at all).  Perhaps there can be more general school meetings and events for parents having to do with the interplay between the emotional and nutritional care of their children. Any information about obesity needs to be coupled with information about anorexia and bulimia as well. 

 And, in the school systems, what about a letter to parents regarding the letters that were sent to the kids?  Without parent knowledge and involvement, do you think any of the kids who got those letters actually talked to anyone?  I know the skinny girls who were told their BMI’s were too high were able to laughingly talk to their families.  But I wonder about the girl for whom it may have been true.  Is this the best way to be of help?  I wonder….  

jb

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