……………… I know it’s only Monday morning but I’m pissed. I mean, isn’t this what we’ve been saying all along? There are so many things wrong with this situation I’m wondering where to start. My mind is reeling and I’m praying that this won’t happen to another young girl—but it will. And having a daughter, let me just say right now, it better not be mine or I’m going to really have to chew someone’s ear off, Mike Tyson style.
Katie Owen, an 11 year old in Essex, UK, got a BMI report card (something I truly hate—and I talk about why more extensively in my book, Good Girls Don’t Get Fat due out October 1), from Barking & Dagenham NHS, that told her she was “overweight.” How did she react?
She burst into tears.
She immediately started to starve herself.
She called herself “too fat.”
Yup. The girl in the picture. So, yeah, I’m pissed.
Because here is a beautiful girl. With aspirations. Who now believes she is unworthy of nourishment. Whose beauty is obscured by a careless calculation. How careless, you might ask?
Get this.
- She’s 110 pounds.
- 5 feet tall.
- BMI is 21.5.
That’s would be completely normal by adult standards. But not by children’s standards.
Annoyed yet? How about this…
She received the results from the National Child Measurement Scheme that she had “increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer as her body mass index (BMI) was outside recommended guidelines…
by ONE per cent”
Yup. One per cent.
I guess you can say that she fell on the “wrong side” of the scheme. I know. Ugh.
It’s all based on means. And 11 year olds are just not as tall, solid or filled out as Katie.
Looking at growth charts, you would notice that an average 11 year old (denoted by the 50% mark) is about 4 inches shorter and 25 pounds lighter than Katie. You know 11 year olds. Many of them still look like children. Katie is clearly an early developer—going through puberty earlier than her peers. And guess how many pounds a girl typically gains while going through puberty? You guessed it. About 25 pounds.
That’s one of the big problems with children’s BMI charts. Katie is in the 81st percentile. But—she is being compared to other girls who have not yet started puberty. So does that mean puberty=fat? Is that a fair synopsis of this situation? That’s a scary jump and an easy way for girls to reject a natural, healthy, beautiful thing that happens to herself.
Look at her picture.
- This is a photo of a healthy, beautiful girl.
- Who no longer thinks she is healthy or beautiful.
- And is now taking measures to lose weight that is not healthy at all.
In the midst of the report, I saw several disturbing things on top of what I’ve already brought to light.
She—and perhaps others who are trying to defend her– are qualifying and justifying her weight. No, she shouldn’t have to do that. She’s absolutely fine the way she is! The article says that Katie has some joint problems “which means she cannot always exercise regularly but the schoolgirl has always eaten healthily, avoids junk food and plays sport when she can.”
This is ridiculous. She’s a beautiful, healthy looking girl! No explanation needed.
But this is all trifling in comparison to the irresponsible responses from the Barking & Dagenham NHS spokeswoman who simply leaned on “confidentiality” and “no comment” clauses and the public health consultant Dr Justin Varney who said:
‘The NCMP letters are intended to encourage parents and carers to ensure their children eat well and take exercise and to let parents know what support is available to them.’ If parents, carers or the child concerned are worried about their child’s results, we recommend that they talk to their GP or practice nurse.’
Flippant.
Feckless.
Foolish.
The blood in my belly is boiling. The girl is a wreck. And we know—come on, we know it, that when girls are told they’re “overweight” or “fat” (warped societal translation= ugly, worthless, blameworthy, unworthy) they take the label with them everywhere they go…during everything they do…no matter where they are or who they’re with. To suggest that she should go to her GP or nurse is a freaking joke. The damage has already been done…and no, you can’t take it back.
So we should all be concerned. We should all be worried.
Because at the end of the day, this story is not at all about weight. It’s not about BMI. It’s not about a growth chart.
It’s about a girl.
A girl who is now starving herself and feeling bad about herself because of a mathematical equation that has labeled her at a single moment in time.
And that one little label…
threatens to mar her self esteem for the rest of her life.
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you for sharing this disturbing but unfortunately very common situation. It makes me so very sad – I wish I was angry but I am so sad because it is so common. Thank you for doing what you do, together perhaps we can all begin to make a difference in this awful mess.
Becky Henry
This absolutely infuriates me! My hand is shaking I’m so upset.
This one hits really close to home.
I remember when I was her age, my pediatrician was freaking out. I had seemed to gain about twenty pounds over the course of a year and a half, and she did not like the site of that. She told me an ‘adjusted food intake plan’ would be best, to prevent the things mentioned above there. I was 120 pounds at 5 feet. A little larger than Katie, but not by much. (I started my period later on that 5th grade year.) Only last year, when reading “Eating in the Light of the Moon” by Anita Johnston that I realized, that twenty pound weight gain was normal for an early developer. Unfortunately, a long road of disordered eating, which later lead to an eating disorder, resulted from not knowing that sooner…or rather, my pediatrician not taking that into consideration.
This just really pisses me off. I wish there was something I could do to be proactive and get involved. I want to fixfixfix this. That UK system just isn’t right. If they even think of starting doing that in the US, you can BET I’m sending in angry and protesting letters! A parent doesn’t need a letter telling them that their child is “at risk”, and by the least accurate form of measurement, at that! Way to be proactive, NCMP! Way to be proactive. *shakes head*
I would like to mention that the school had great intentions here but did not implement them well. While in theory it sounds great to warn people when they are in danger, did they consider the adverse effects? NO! Why were medical doctors, psychiatrists, therapists, etc. not consulted and advise the school how to go about this in a healthy and safe way rather than asking kids to have eating disorders.
Katie, I’m sorry you received this message from the school but I hope you can find a way to fight back and prove them wrong in a safe way rather than by letting yourself rapidly heads towards an early and unnecessary death…because brutal honesty is what is needed here.
I’m screaming “NO” from the depths of my being. Heaven help us all!
This is about labels and measuring indices that may not truly measure what they are supposed to measure. Because they never take into account individuality, extraneous circumstances and situational issues. Never have and never can.. They are probably also based on distant data of 11-year-olds, before puberty occurred in younger ages.
What has happened to us that we, as a society must rely on defective and inaccurate measurement tools that tell us something different than our eyes do. Here’s a case of a systems failure. A system that was likely set up to assist families in supporting and encouraging healthy lifestyles. But, something has gone awry. Terribly awry.
And left in the aftermath is the mental well-being of perfectly lovely, perfectly PERFECT young girl, who has EVERY right to know that there is NOTHING wrong with her, but EVERYTHING wrong with the system.
My heart aches for Katie and her entire family…and for every other child who has ever suffered what is tantamount to systemic bullying. Because this school system’s flagrant disregard for handling this situation with any shred of professionalism, edification or common human decency is glaring.
Oh, that we could gather our collective global arms and lift Katie high and sing her praises…and tell her how beautiful she really is…and how special…and unique.
And make a clear and compelling case as to why this should never happen again…ANYWHERE!
The focus on acquisition of “perfect health” is coming at the expense of same it seems, when I hear girls comparing their BMI percentages in the pediatric waiting rooms or athlete’s being told their ‘ideal’ for performance via coach callouts…
Just this past week my own teen Goldilocks tried on many labels herself coming out of the MD for her 15 y.o. physical. She studied the chart, querying, “so what does this percentile stuff mean? Am I over? Under? Height? Weight?” (which prompts the ‘just right’ cue, but I’m not sure she’s buying that porridge as the seed had been set…shades of “Inception”…)
And to top it all off, to encourage her to keep up her sports enthusiasm the doctor reminded of the scholarships that could be won for collegiate efforts if she put more focus on top grades (sigh, nothing like adding stress where a parent’s being mindful NOT to put it) ACK!
As authority figures (teachers, doctors, coaches, parents etc.) we ALL need to be mindful of the “powerful words” that spill from our mouths.
The kids DO listen (& act) on some level based on what ‘sticks’ in the psyche. This post is a classic reminder, leaving hearts heavy and sighs heard aplenty.
Amy @ShapingYouth
This makes me so mad!!!! My daughter got one of these BMI reports when she was in first grade. The school nurse took me aside and showed me the report and told me she was in danger of being overweight. I was livid! There was no way she was overweight, just shorter than average. 4 years later, she’s a beautiful 11 year old, 4’9″ and 90 lbs who loves to dance. I can’t imagine what this nonsense would have done to her self esteem.
Wow…so sad that such a young and beautiful girl has to suffer these completely unnecessary distorted perceptions beacause of insensitivity and ignorance. Thank you for the work you do to bring awareness to this subject!! I share your upset and passion to help women of all ages see themselves in a more realistic way!
Warmly,
Cindy
I feel so sad for this girl right now. It’s amazing that the world is now all about spreading awareness about the dangers of obesity but not everyone can be put on a growth chart. There are so many factors involved. I’m currently in treatment for my eating disorder where according to my BMI I AM overweight. My doctors keep telling me that this is the weight I need to be at. And right now I just feel so sad for this beautiful 11 year old girl who needs to be told SHE’S BEAUTIFUL THE WAY SHE IS. She doesn’t need to prove a thing. How can we let this be happening to these young girls? I’m tired of hearing about the obesity epidemic. How about the eating disorder epidemic? Please Katie, if you’re reading this PLEASE KNOW THAT YOU ARE NOT A NUMBER. Your body is just the shell to carry your soul. Please don’t think you need to change your body. I wish someone would’ve told me that at 11. And it’s a decade later and I’m still struggling so much. You’re beautiful and your life should be about so much more than your size. <3 <3 <3
Just another example of soulless bureaucracy insisting that everyone be “the same”. It’s bad enough these schools force kids to think alike…now they have to have similar bodies? Stop playing the numbers game.
It’s time for home-schooling to make a massive resurgence….
Outstanding post.
Warning people that being overweight is bad for them is kind of like warning them to not walk around holding a golf club over your head during a thunderstorm.
I’ve been fat most of my life. Trust me. We know.
The BMI is WORTHLESS-especially in this case. According to BMI, Shaquille O’Neal and Tom Cruise are overweight.