Childhood obesity and body mass index of children

It is much easier to prevent than treat, -beautiful in its simplicity the truth. It was she who was guided by the National Health Service of England, testing children for excess weight. Studies have shown that there is enough little intervention from parents to make the child's lifestyle healthier. This is a great investment in his future health, - the National Service is confident.Photo: GettyImagesInterests of children above all. Therefore, if by results of testing a schoolboy suddenly discovered excess weight or prerequisites for the appearance of such a school nurse contacted his parents and gave recommendations on what to do in order to avoid problems. - A proactive approach to a healthy lifestyle is genuine support, a measure that really works, changes the life of children for the better, - health officials said. The children were tested for excess weight by calculating the body mass index: the height in centimeters should be squared and divided by the weight in kilograms mmah. The formula is simple and therefore does not always justify itself: it does not take into account the level of muscle mass or the type of human body. But the English decided that it was enough. "As a result, parents from schools began to receive letters of very unpleasant content:" Your child weighs too much for his age, height and sex, "the message of the parents of the four-year-old Roxanne Toll said. "This will lead to the fact that the child will have health problems: early diabetes, high blood pressure." In addition, doctors predicted a low level of self-esteem for the child. - We were in shock. It seems that we just do that we feed the child with sweets. But this is not so! Roxanne is very active, she does not have excess weight, - the girl's parents were indignant. - How can we vaccinate children at such an early age with complexes about their weight? Roxana, incidentally, with an increase of 110.4 centimeters weighed 23.6 kilograms. According to the classical tables on the development of children is too much for a four-year-old child. But the growth of Roxanne is also not classical - much higher than average.1/2Roxana with her motherPhoto: facebook.comThe Toll FamilyPhoto: facebook.comThe parents of five-year-old Jake received the same letter. He is 112.5 centimeters tall and weighs 22.5 kilograms. Jake does have health problems: he has a cognitive disorder. He underwent brain surgery a year ago. “Jake is a big guy, he is growing beyond his age. Now he is a seven-year-old’s clothing size. He has special needs, he has a number of problems that could affect his weight. But he is not obese,” Jake’s mother shared with The Sun.The outraged parents went to the school to talk to the teachers about the outrageous letters. But the teachers were no less shocked than the moms and dads themselves. They knew nothing about the letters, because it was an initiative of the association of school doctors. Yes, it looks like the initiative has failed. It is unlikely that the issue of child development can be approached so simply - calculate the body mass index, and that’s it. However, there is another side to the issue. “And he’s not fat at all, everyone in our family is so plump,” the lady shouted, leaving the endocrinologist’s office, dragging her son along with her. “Excess weight, what nonsense!” The door slammed, the lady caught her breath, let go of the child’s hand and reached into her purse. She took out two Snickers bars. One for herself, the other for her son. They unwrapped them and bit into them – apparently, to relieve stress with something sweet. But both of them weren’t exactly plump. They were just square. Looking at them, you think: this is not a bad initiative. It’s just a little unfinished. What do you think? Should parents be encouraged to lead a healthier lifestyle?