The NHS have branded my Son Tom as overweight!

[nigelpugh7]

Hi All,

Not sure if this is the right section of PH, mods feel free to move if needed.

I have today just received a letter from my local NHS, stating that they recently weighed and measured Tom, and he has been deemed as being overweight, as he has a BMI of 94.

To say I am shocked an amazed is an understatement.

Now Tom is just 5 years old, he will be 6 at the end of September, he is tall, slim, muscular, and does not seem to have an ounce of fat on him.

He even has a six pack and lots of other good muscle definition too.

I mean seriously can this be right, there is no way he could ever be described as overweight.

Since Birth he has always been in the 95 centile on growth charts, so he is big for his age!

It strikes me that BMI is not a very good indicator for children this age, especially as I am 6ft 2 tall, and he was always going to follow me re height!

Any one else experienced this, or do I just ignore it as another stupidly flawed Nanny State over protection issue!

Thanks!

[eybic]

You should be able to check it yourself using a BMI calculator. I'm 6ft 2" and just under 13 stone, I am considered to be in the middle of the "ok" bit.

[CrabDan]

I would give it a good hard ignoring.

[AJS-]

Most likely rubbish.

As I understand it BMI is simply weight against height, and takes no account of bone structure or muscle mass, which are both heavier than fat, inch for inch of height if you see what I mean. So if he's active and muscular with thick set build it would probably be more of a worry for him to have a "normal" BMI.

[nigelpugh7]

eybic said:

You should be able to check it yourself using a BMI calculator. I'm 6ft 2" and just under 13 stone, I am considered to be in the middle of the "ok" bit.

Thanks, I am probably classed as overweight myself, which is not surprising considering all the fatty food and booze I consume! And with no where near enough exercise too, I am 6'2 and 14.5 Stone, but that has only happened in the last few years as middle age spread has set in, I always used to be under 13 stone until I got into my 40's too.

My real concern here is this is what is wrong with the Governemnt and NHS today.

I fully understand that we are getting lazier and fatter, and that is a problem with society we live in, in our western capitalist countries.

However this makes you wonder if advice such as this leads to over concerned parents changing the diets of their children, and they wrongly end up, under weight and anorexic, along with being plagued with psychological and emotional issues due to their so called " weight issues"

Honestly i am lost for words!

[Coco H]

My son who turned six last week had a BMI on the 89 th centile so just below being overweight. Yet he is very stocky muscular with a six pack. He's also very fit. He can run for miles and can manage 10 miles on his bike easily. Hes also the fastest runner in his class. We were told to watch his weight. I could understand if he was not an active child with a penchant for fast food but he's not. I would ignore as this system is far too simple.

[nigelpugh7]

CrabDan said:

I would give it a good hard ignoring.

Inclined to do just that, but it also makes my blood boil, I really want to write to them in the strongest terms, and tell them to jog on!

[Studio117]

For every boy like yours there will be many more fatties, who are genuinely overweight.

So letters are better than nothing imo.

[Starfighter]

You could have a play with them.

Ask for the statistical base data for the derivation of the BMI index and its specific application to children. I recall some radio articles that basic said the BMI calculation is based on 50+ year old data and extrapolated to take account of age. I also recall that the last olympic team were all either over-weight or obese.

This may be of interest
http://www.noo.org.uk/uploads/doc/vid_11601_A_simp...

[nigelpugh7]

Coco H said:

My son who turned six last week had a BMI on the 89 th centile so just below being overweight. Yet he is very stocky muscular with a six pack. He's also very fit. He can run for miles and can manage 10 miles on his bike easily. Hes also the fastest runner in his class. We were told to watch his weight. I could understand if he was not an active child with a penchant for fast food but he's not. I would ignore as this system is far too simple.

Thanks it sounds very similar situation to Tom.

He eats really well for a 5 year old, lots of fibre, he loves broccoli and green beans, he eats cereals and brown bread and eats proper food, no junk except for a very rare trip to McDonalds with the grand parents every now and again.

He is tall and muscular, has a good six pack too, sometimes I worry he is too thin as you can see his ribs!

He is also very active and plays outside almost very day, and spends hours at local parks, wacky warehouses and such like, you could hardly call him sedentary !

[nigelpugh7]

Starfighter said:

You could have a play with them.

Ask for the statistical base data for the derivation of the BMI index and its specific application to children. I recall some radio articles that basic said the BMI calculation is based on 50+ year old data and extrapolated to take account of age. I also recall that the last olympic team were all either over-weight or obese.

This may be of interest
http://www.noo.org.uk/uploads/doc/vid_11601_A_simp...

Looks good, will do some digging, I don't think I am just going to roll over on this one!

[AJS-]

Studio117 said:

For every boy like yours there will be many more fatties, who are genuinely overweight.

So letters are better than nothing imo.

The trouble is many people still wouldn't actually question the medical profession. They would panic and think "oh no my son's a fatty" and put him on some crash diet that leaves him hungry or worry themselves sick about it.

[Use Psychology]

sounds like he's just powerfully built?

[Deva Link]

This sounds like a case for the Daily Mail.

[odyssey2200]

CrabDan said:

I would give it a good hard ignoring.

This

My eldest was always a bit podgy until 13-14 ish
He is now 16, 6ft 2 and skinny as a rake.

Middle son is 12 and is Solid. Not fat just bloody heavy

youngest looks like he could snap in half at any moment.

Ignore them and get on with bringing up a healthy, well ballanced kid.

[NDA]

Is there a consequence threat or similar in this letter? He's fat, so you will be fined? He's fat so we're calling the Police? Or is it just he's fat, thought you'd like to know?

Sounds like a candidate for the bin.

[nigelpugh7]

AJS- said:

The trouble is many people still wouldn't actually question the medical profession. They would panic and think "oh no my son's a fatty" and put him on some crash diet that leaves him hungry or worry themselves sick about it.

Thanks, that was exactly my point.

Thankfully I don't have the same knee jerk reaction that a lot of parents seem to these days!

Of course if you look at all the negative comments I get on my videos of Tom in my Caterham R500 on YouTube then I am clearly a very bad and irresponsible parent!

I think we will just carry on doing things the way my own common sense tells me too, instead of being led like sheep that so many weak minded people seem to do these days!

[nigelpugh7]

Use Psychology said:

sounds like he's just powerfully built?

A well judged and funny comment for PH!

It is true though that he is a lot bigger that most other boys in his clas at school.

This has a lot to do with the fact that being born at the end of September, he is one of the oldest in his class, and is also physically large, such as the size of his feet and hands etc, his spread and span across his fingers would make him a great pianist!

[goldblum]

The formula for the BMI value is based on population averages.As your son is above average fitness and muscular composition,and as the BMI value takes no account of bone density (which varies between individuals) and lean muscle mass (which varies between individuals and is of course heavier than fat)you can ignore the BMI rating.This is what a doctor will conclude should you take your son for a checkup and assuming the information you have given in your post is correct.

[Buzz word]

BMI of 94? What? he would be bed bound! In an adult to be lean and overweight on the BMI scale you would be very muscular. Take Gregg Plitt for example 185cm and 88kg has a BMI of 25.7 so Just into the overweight catagory. Very very few people look like that.