Currently In the News
April, 2015: School sends a letter home with a 7-year-old wrongfully concerned about her BMI
March 2015: Opponents of BMI school screening line up for bill
February, 2015: Mom Claims School Fat-Shamed 6-Year-Old
https://news.yahoo.com/video/parents-angered-letter-sent-home-231847418.html
November 2014: Student Sent To Principal's Office After Refusing To Be Weighed
- Excerpt: "I don't feel like it's [the school's] business,"Ireland told the Des Moines Register. "I feel like it's my doctor and my mom and my own business -- or maybe not even my own, because I don't need to know that right now."
- Excerpt: "It's very common among young girls, and even women, to become obsessed with the number on the scale," Heather Hobert-Hoch said. She said she didn't want her daughter to go down that path, especially since she's a healthy, lean girl.
May, 2014: Mom Outraged After Education Department Allegedly Calls Daughter 'Overweight'
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Excerpt: "My daughter is thin; she knows she doesn't have a weight problem, but that night, I caught her grabbing the skin near her waist, and she asked me, 'is this what they were talking about?"' Laura Williams told Fox. "It was awful to see. Williams added: "Some of her friends found out they were obese.… They were crying.”
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Excerpt: Speaking with the New York Post, Chevese Turner of the Bing Eating Disorder Association came out against the Fitnessgrams.“Dieting, especially for kids, is the gateway drug for eating disorders, and so is the public shaming that can come with this,” she said, according to the outlet. “My organization and others believe that [Mass Body Index] report cards have no place coming from schools and can be more harmful than helpful.”
February, 2013: 'Fat Letters' Sent Home To Students Spark Controversy In Massachusetts
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Excerpt: Karen Hilyard, a health communication researcher at the University of Georgia, told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution at the time that arming parents with information about how to help their children lead healthier lifestyles would be more effective than adding to the social stigma surrounding weight.