When they get it wrong

My daughter is fat?

Okay, so I’ll admit it, I hate the Health Department screenings at school.  Mainly because they end up sending me the same letter every year.  “Your daughter requires medical attention for her vision.”  Well, she wears glasses, so duh.  But they make her remove her glasses for the test, go figure.  This system then requires that I have her eye doctor sign a letter to the effect that she is under his care for her vision issues.

But this year I got a bonus.  They labeled my daughter as at risk for obesity based on the BMI.  Seriously?  This is a kid who wears a size 4 and dances 20 hours a week.  What she is is 5’3” of solid muscle.  She could probably lift my SUV off the ground.  They suggested medical intervention.  Again I ask, seriously?  Apparently they look at a formula and not at the child.  See . . .

  

 Not at risk for obesity.  Guess no one at the health department ever heard that muscle weighs more than fat.

This sort of generalization is, IMHO, harsh and can cause low self-esteem in a child.  Great, that’s all they need when they’re in high school and appearance is everything.  What do they want?  Everyone larger than a size 2 to develop an eating disorder?

So silly.