Weight blame so inaccurate, says mother
‘Outrageous’ alert on ‘slim’ Isabel, 10
FIT NOT FAT Lexi and Karis A MUM is furious after her five-year-old ballet dancer daughter was branded “overweight”.
Karis Campbell, 28, said daughter Lexi, who is 3ft 6ins and weighs 3.6 stone, is tall for her age and exercises well.
But the fitness instructor has had a letter saying the youngster falls outside the “healthy” body/mass range.
A council-run service said athletic Lexi is even on the brink of becoming obese.
Mum-of-two Karis, from Harlow, Essex, said: “How can they tell young children they are fat when they are not?”
An Essex county council spokesman said children at Lexi’s school were measured as part of a national scheme. AN angry dad has slammed school health bosses for branding his “slim, active” daughter “too fat”.
Isabel Mackenzie, who is 5ft and 8st 1lb, was rated “overweight” compared with other 10-year-old girls her height.
Dad Gareth, 33, and mum Leona, 32, said they were told in a “horrible” call by the school nurse, plus a letter from Lancashire Healthy Young People and Families Service and Virgin Care.
Gareth, of Lancaster, who also has son Isaac, five, said: “They’re basically saying this slim girl is too fat and it’s outrageous. My wife was made to feel a bad parent. They were telling her, ‘This is what you should be feeding your child’. Isabel is so active. She goes swimming, she does a run every day.”
Lancashire Healthy Young People and Families Service said: “We hope they appreciate the information is intended to help identify where positive changes can be made.”
The county council said it wants to “encourage children to eat well and be active” to stay a healthy weight.