Schools Test Children's Body Fat

Aug. 16 -- Is burgeoning baby fat a subject best kept home from school?

American children are getting fatter and fatter, and research shows that overweight children are susceptible to a host of health problems down the line. So with calipers in hand, schools across the country take it upon themselves to test students body fat, a process that's been going on for years now.

But should the evaluation of a student's body mass best be done by a doctor instead of a gym teacher? That debate was sparked recently when the Livonia Public School System in Michigan decision to outlaw body fat testing in schools.

Body Fat Testing Not a Bad Idea

Some experts say that assessing body fat in children isn't necessarily a bad idea, but they agreed that the testing should be performed by health professionals, and not in schools.

"Kids have yearly physicals and pediatricians can do all these measurements in the privacy of the office with the parent in the waiting room," says Dr. David Herzog, professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, Mass. "If body mass index or cholesterol is a problem, a consultation can happen immediately with the family."

Herzog believes school testing contributes to teasing, and gives kids who are overweight one more reason to feel they are different from the norm. "Doing this in schools seems like a disaster," he adds, "Kids knowing these numbers, teasing others who show up with a high BMI [body mass index] or blood pressure, putting the issue of overweight in public view of others when overweight kids have a terrible time in school with teasing."

A spot check of 15 communities found nine that perform the test in schools, with proponents saying it is part of a valuable fitness evaluation. "There are so many youth these days that are severely overweight, their body fat is way out of whack," says Russ Newcomb, a physical education teacher at Burlington High School in Burlington, Mass. "So we try to address that by making them realize they have to start paying attention to what they eat and the importance of exercise."