Tracy & Matt Watson of North Andover were sent a “fat letter” from the State of Massachusetts warning them that their son, 94-pound 10-year-old Cameron Watson, was considered obese. The fit looking 4th grader recently won a Massachusetts state wrestling championship for his weight class by pinning his opponent in under 30 seconds. But according to the Department of Public Health (DPH) standards which mandates schools collect height and weight information to calculate body mass index (BMI) as an indicator of body fat, the star athlete is unhealthy.
DPH defends its practice of using BMI as a health indicator and found that 32.3 percent of Massachusetts children fall into the overweight or obese category. DPH representative Anne Roach said, "Helping children maintain a healthy weight may prevent serious illness later in life…BMI screenings are intended to raise parents' awareness about this issue." However some parents object to the agency’s practice and legislators have drafted a bill that will be voted on this spring preventing DPH from collecting the student data and issuing these letters. Cameron’s father, Matt Watson said, "I think there are problems with some children and childhood obesity but I think that's something you handle with your family and your physician…I don't think it should be the state telling the schools to test the children."
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