NHS tells mum her boy’s too fat
A MOTHER vented her anger yesterday after health officials branded her little boy overweight – for being just a pound above NHS guidelines.
Doctors claimed that at 3st 5lb, five-year-old Zac Forder is at risk of developing cancer, diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.
His mother Michala – a healthy eating expert – was furious to receive a letter as part of a nationwide weight-screening scheme, pointing out the potential health problems.
Michala, 37, who advises youngsters about healthy eating as a pre-school practitioner, accused Oxfordshire NHS Primary Care Trust of damning children and said the letters could push some children into crash dieting.
She said that Zac, who has not been told about the letter, was a perfectly healthy, active boy who ate well and took regular exercise.
Michala, of Carterton, Oxfordshire, said: “How dare the NHS tell me that my child is overweight, when he isn’t.
“It has made me furious. It’s a damaging and ridiculous letter. All some parents will see is ‘overweight’ and ‘cancer’. It’s a very damning attitude. There has got to be a better way of doing it.”
The trust has been weighing and measuring about 11,000 four to five-year-olds and 10 to 11-year-olds as part of the National Child Measurement Programme.
Parents can opt out of the scheme. But if they take part they receive a letter with a verdict on their child’s weight. The letter, which also angered other mothers at Edith Moorhouse Primary School in Carterton, said Zac’s ideal weight for his age and height should be between 2st 7lb and 3st 4lb.
The PCT apologised for any distress caused, but claimed it was simply following Department of Health guidelines.
A spokesman for the eating disorders charity Beat, said: “Such rigid interpretation of these guidelines only serves to stigmatise children for their weight and shape.”
