Calling kids “overweight” is fat-shaming, experts say

Labeling kids as “overweight” is fat shaming and could do more harm than good, a study suggests.

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

Instead of helping kids lose weight, it has the potential to cause eating disorders and unhealthy dieting behaviors that are “much more dangerous than weight itself.”

Regulating the food industry or expanding free school meals would be more beneficial for tackling the cause, experts suggest.

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

Nutritionist Aaron Nee criticized ‘idiot’ BMI checks from the NHS after his slim five-year-old son Jacob (left) was labeled as 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 results provided to parents to advise whether their child is categorized as ‘underweight’, a ‘healthy weight’, ‘overweight’ or ‘very overweight’.

It provides important data on national levels of childhood obesity, with one in ten now obese when they enter primary school, rising to nearly one in four by the time they enter secondary school.

In the first study of its kind, researchers at Queen Mary University of London set out to assess the impact of the program on overweight children.

They analyzed feedback from parents who received advice and support on how to achieve a healthy weight for their child after being categorized as overweight or very overweight.

Analysis showed that these families expressed strong concerns about the potential detrimental effects on their child’s mental health, with many saying this marked a turning point in the child’s awareness of body weight – altering their relationship with food.

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

Parents expressed concern that the potential for mental health disorders, eating disorders and unhealthy dietary behaviors in the future was “much more dangerous than weight itself.”

They often cited the child’s happiness as their priority, with many admitting to ignoring the findings.

Researchers found that being encouraged to lose weight, teasing, and weight-related criticism impacted children’s self-perceptions and increased dieting and dysfunctional eating behaviors.

Dr. Meredith Hawking, from Queen Mary University of London, said: ‘Many parents are rightfully concerned about the impact the National Child Measurement Program could have on children’s self-image and eating habits as they get older.

“More research is needed to understand whether these concerns are confirmed in the long term and to find ways to mitigate them as the program continues.”

Jemma Fletcher criticized health bosses after receiving a letter last year labeling her five-year-old daughter Lily (left) as overweight and in 2018 Ariel Marsden was ‘shocked’ when her four-year-old daughter Belle (left) was also branded overweight

She suggested that ministers act on the data from the NCMP and devise new ways to tackle childhood obesity, which is particularly prevalent in poorer communities.

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

But Tam Fry, chair of the National Obesity Forum, said it was vital that children’s weights were measured to signal potential health problems in the future.

He said the program was not intended as a weight management program for children to get expert medical attention, but instead as a statistical exercise to provide information about an increasing problem.

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

Now, 18 years later, thousands of children and their parents are still suffering and there is no sign that childhood obesity will improve. It’s a national disgrace.’

It comes after a nutritionist slammed ‘moron’ NHS BMI checks last year after his slim five-year-old son was found to be overweight.

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

Other parents have shared similar concerns.