The school nurse just loves ya… like a fat kid loves cake! California schools are taking early steps to keep kids from continuing to eat like chunky monkeys . Via NY Daily News reports : In an effort to combat childhood obesity, schools in California have begun sending out what have been dubbed “fat letters” to the parents of overweight children. After checking the weight of preschoolers in the San Fernando valley, registered dietician Lauren Schmitt is tasked with contacting the families of children who have already begun losing the battle of the bulge. “We look at growth charts and percentiles. And when a child is at 95 percent of their…we can look at weight for age or weight for height…that child would be considered obese,” Schmitt told KNX News. There is no shortage of kids in the LA area whose parents end up receiving a “fat letter.” Of the 900 children between the ages of two and five that she evaluates, Schmitt says approximately 200 qualify as obese. “We let the parents know in a gentle fashion, but we also send out a ton of handouts to try to help that family,” Schmitt said. California is not the only state to send “fat letters” to parents. Similar obesity information is sent in 19 other states. “It shouldn’t be a stigma. It’s not a way to categorize someone. It’s just showing that this child has increased risk to be obese as an adult, which then could lead to quite a few chronic diseases,” said Schmitt. A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released last month found that childhood obesity rates edged down slightly last year, falling in 18 states. These kids are ages 2-5!!! That’s so young to be obese. If you got a letter like this would you be pissed or grateful someone took the time to point out the problem early?
