Massachusetts Personal Injury Library
Boston Schools Report on Children's Growth
A recent report in The Boston Globe announced that public schools in Massachusetts will begin in the fall sending report cards home to parents alerting them if their child’s weight is a problem. The new policy is being instituted by the Massachusetts Public Health Council, made up of doctors, academics, and service providers, as a way to educate parents and children about childhood obesity.
These new screenings are modeled after initiatives in Arkansas and New York City. Students in the first, fourth, seventh, and 10th grades will be measured and weighted for their body weight mass index, a standard of measurement used to determine if people have the appropriate height and weight.
The new regulations are part of the Mass In Motion anti-obesity initiative announced earlier this year by the Patrick Administration. Recent data show that more than one-third of all middle school and high schools students in Massachusetts are considered either overweight or obese. These numbers are similar to data collected nationally among middle and high school students. The higher numbers of children who are obese are also resulting in increasing numbers of students with high blood pressure and a form of diabetes that formerly occurred in adults.
The Council got input from health care providers and physicians who supported the plan. Some parents are concerned, since the new regulation was announced. The way the Arkansas initiative was implemented provided for private screenings of all students in the school system with no mention made at that time of the Body Mass Index (BMI). That information is shared only with the parents as a way to educate them and provide them with information on healthy and nutritional eating. The purpose of the new regulation is to provide parents with important information on the health status of their child, and to help parents work with health care providers on ways to promote healthier eating and exercise habits for children.
Each child's BMI result will be provided to parents along with background information to help them understand how to interpret those results. Parents will also get tips on how they can help their child eat healthier and get more physical activity. The information will be mailed or otherwise directly communicated to parents in writing, and will not be shared with the child. Parents who do not want their child screened can opt out of the process at any time.
The initiative will be phased in during the next two school years, with more than 286,000 students expected to undergo evaluation before the end of the 2010-2011 academic year. The letters issued to parents won’t just be a scorecard, state authorities promised; they will provide suggestions on where to turn for help.
The data collected will also be shared with the Department of Public Health (DPH), to help health officials gain a better understanding of trends in weight status among school-age children in Massachusetts. This data will not include student-specific BMI results.
The new regulations will be phased in over the next 18 months. During that time, DPH will work with school nurses and administrators on training and implementation efforts.
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