Lyons Amps Up Battle Cry Against 'Fat Letters'

He's calling for reform of the Department of Public Health.

Several weeks after filing legislation to eliminate BMI monitoring in schools, State Rep. Jim Lyons of Andover is stepping up his battle against the "fat letters" and calling for "top-to-bottom reform" of the state's Department of Health. "The DPH acts like bureaucratic bullies, when it deals with families and school children," Lyons wrote about the controversial BMI letters in a statement Thursday. "At the same time, this bureaucracy has manifestly failed to protect public health and public safety in its disastrous lack of oversight of pharmaceutical manufacturers and its mishandling of state drug labs." A child's BMI is factored with a BMI-for-age chart established by the Centers for Disease Control, and a percentile (compared with age …

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Fighting the 'Fat Letters'

After public backlash over BMI notifications, two North Andover lawmakers are joining the fight.

One day last year, Selectman Tracy Watson received a school letter about her son Cameron. It wasn't about his grades or his behavior. It was to inform her and her husband that Cameron was classified as "obese." "Honestly, I laughed," Watson said. The letter -- part of a state initiative to monitor children's Body Mass Index -- explained BMI standards and encouraged her and her husband to contact their pediatrician. But the letters have many in town crying foul and have ignited a debate over the government's role in children's health. Body Mass Index is a number used to indicate body fat, and the number is determined by a child's weight and height. Watson's laughter was from surprise. Cameron plays sports and participates in martial arts. …

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Moms Talk Q&A

Moms Council: Kids and Dieting

Local moms discuss dieting for kids under 10 years old.

Moms Talk is part of a North Andover Patch initiative to reach out to moms and families. North Andover Patch invites you and your circle of friends to help build a community of support for mothers and their families right here in North Andover. Each week in Moms Talk, our Moms Council of experts and smart moms take your questions, give advice and share solutions. This week's question: What are your thoughts on young kids (say, kids under 10 years old) going on diets? Some moms today put their young kids on aggressive diets insisting that kids need to learn to be fit at a young age, while others say to just let them be kids and enjoy food and insist that putting little kids on diets will hurt their self-esteem and make them image-obsessed …

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Michele Gorham

10:45 am on Wednesday, July 13, 2011

I forgot to finish my sentence (hazards of writing while the children are awake, haha!): I feel the most suitable person to make decisions on major eating habit changes is the pediatrician. They are trained to make such decisions and have resources which can be provided to parents to help with any transitions in diet and exercise that need to be made.   more ›