by crackers » Fri Dec 31, 2021 2:54 am
Completely agree with you Starr! I would be wary of the NHS guidelines on weight/obesity in children as there are so many other background factors to take into account such as genetic inheritance, bone density etc - at best their charts are a general guide only and should be used cautiously, sadly they are not detailed or sophisticated enough and not always used responsibly by Health Visitors / in- school monitoring of primary age children. I say this from personal experience as my son was flagged as obese when measured in primary school which was ridiculous as he was very tall from birth and came from a paternal family background of very tall, lean males who were all chubby as youngsters. Sure enough, he is now at senior school, 6’3, lean and still growing .. unsurprisingly, he followed genetic inheritance! Like your friend, I felt annoyed and concerned by the letter I received when he was at primary school especially given the prevalence of body image / eating disorders. If I hadn’t felt confident, it could have precipitated me into feeling anxious which I could have passed on to him. It’s time a more sophisticated and detailed model for monitoring is used - a little like the realisation of the limits of BMI (think how a professional rugby player would score!) as it doesn’t take into account someone’s build or distribution of muscle/body fat etc. I’ve always been amazed at how some of my friends of similar height weighed so much less than me yet we looked similarly slim; at times when I’ve weighed less than 9 st I look horribly underweight. We’re all different!
Completely agree with you Starr! I would be wary of the NHS guidelines on weight/obesity in children as there are so many other background factors to take into account such as genetic inheritance, bone density etc - at best their charts are a general guide only and should be used cautiously, sadly they are not detailed or sophisticated enough and not always used responsibly by Health Visitors / in- school monitoring of primary age children. I say this from personal experience as my son was flagged as obese when measured in primary school which was ridiculous as he was very tall from birth and came from a paternal family background of very tall, lean males who were all chubby as youngsters. Sure enough, he is now at senior school, 6’3, lean and still growing .. unsurprisingly, he followed genetic inheritance! Like your friend, I felt annoyed and concerned by the letter I received when he was at primary school especially given the prevalence of body image / eating disorders. If I hadn’t felt confident, it could have precipitated me into feeling anxious which I could have passed on to him. It’s time a more sophisticated and detailed model for monitoring is used - a little like the realisation of the limits of BMI (think how a professional rugby player would score!) as it doesn’t take into account someone’s build or distribution of muscle/body fat etc. I’ve always been amazed at how some of my friends of similar height weighed so much less than me yet we looked similarly slim; at times when I’ve weighed less than 9 st I look horribly underweight. We’re all different!