OBESITY: Public schools send home “fat letters” to warn parents that their children may be obese or are on a trend leading to obesity.
By Chance Ornelas-Skarin, Staff Writer
Have you ever talked about staying healthy with your parents? Many parents complain that so-called “fat letters” facilitate these types of conversations. These conversations are necessary for an economy in need of healthy,
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hardworking people and a country where childhood obesity has “more than tripled in the past 30 years,” according to the National School Boards Association. These letters are sent home in 19 different states according to CNN. Though many complain that the Body Mass Index (BMI) used to determine who gets these letters is inaccurate part of the time, it is still “a very good and easy screening tool” according to Cathy Nonas, spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. Recently, a mother in Florida, Kristen Grasso, was alerted that her daughter is obese, even though her daughter, 11-year-old volleyball player Lily Grasso, is extremely active, according to NBC news. This mistake in the system is no reason to stop sending the letters home because they are still pertinent to informing the majority of parents that their kids need become more active and eat healthier.
According to the American Heart Association (AHA), about 24 million children in the U.S. are considered overweight or obese. This statistic shows the sheer size of children who are unhealthy and can benefit from these letters. The letters are not used to tell parents to raise their kids differently or to endorse eating disorders as many complain; they are merely sent to inform parents about their child’s declining health. They additionally encourage parents to “discuss the findings with a health care provider” (healthfinder.gov).
Parents need these letters to consider changing food they buy that may dangerously affect their child’s health. The AHA found that the level of childhood obesity is “more rampant among children living in low-income, low-education, and higher-unemployment households.” This is important to note as this means that less financially secure families may not be able to obtain healthier food. It may even show that parents themselves do not know how to live healthy lifestyles and therefore cannot pass it on to their children. The fact that parents’ unhealthy lifestyles may cause their children to grow up with an unhealthy lifestyle seems even more true considering the University of Rochester Medical Center’s findings that “80 percent of obese 10- to 14-year-olds with an obese parent will be obese as adults” and “[n]early 65 percent of obese adolescents will still be obese as adults.” These shocking statistics show how parents affect the health of their children not only when children live under their care, but also long after they leave home.
Parents have a lot of responsibility for their children’s current and future health. If these supposedly malicious “fat letters” can encourage parents to recognize their children’s unhealthy trends, then this practice should continue. The future of the United States lies in the children who will grow up to work and lead our nation. If we do not work to create a generation of healthy people who can do these things without the hindrance of bad health, then our future will not be nearly as prosperous as it could be.