‘Tiny’ Girl Considered Overweight On School’s BMI Exam, Mom Gets ‘Fat Letter’ [Video]

A “tiny” girl is considered overweight on her Body Mass Index (BMI) exam that was conducted at school. Kylee Moss is only 7-years-old, stands at 3-foot-10, and weighs 54 pounds. Despite her small body size, she was sent home with a note to her mother stating that her BMI was “too high.”

Kylee’s mother, Amanda Moss, was enraged to receive a letter criticizing her daughter’s lean frame. The Belton, Missouri mother told KMBC News 9 that her daughter was worried that the note meant she was “fat.”

“She goes, ‘Does this mean I’m fat?’ and I said, ‘No, this does not mean you are fat,'” said Amanda Moss.

Some of what was written in the letter was “… trade current snacks for healthier ones and find opportunities for activity.”

Kylee’s BMI reads that she has a BMI of 17.9, which means “overweight.” The strange part is she’s a tiny girl that was slapped with a high BMI. BMI is a measurement that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention uses by taking into account height, weight, and age to determine an individual’s health.

“She is tiny,” Moss said. “She has no body fat at all.”

Belton School District Superintendent, Andrew Underwood, told ABC News that they have to calculate the BMI of students as part of their grant program. He said parents will be allowed to opt out in the future if they so choose. Parents will be notified of the exam date in advance and make their child exempt from it if they want to. He adds that “body mass index” is used on their students for “positive reasons to try to promote healthy habits as far as what the kids eat and their activity.” He asserts that there’s “no malicious intent by this.”

Nonetheless, Kylee’s mother doesn’t approve of this system.

“Personal image is a big deal and if you are starting out a child at a very young age telling them they are overweight, it is a problem. It is absolutely unacceptable.”

Last spring, Inquisitr reported about another young girl who was considered overweight because of her BMI. She was sent home with a “fat letter” even though she was very thin and active.

BMI is a controversial measurement because it does not distinguish muscle mass from fat mass, Dr. Naveen Uli tells ABC News. Uli is a pediatric endocrinology at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. He says knowing a student’s BMI can be beneficial because it guides administrators in changing the intensity level of physical activity. It also serves as a way to offer healthier foods on the cafeteria’s menu. The same isn’t true on an individual scale, Uli says.

“[I]t may in fact be psychological[ly] punishing, since school personnel may not be familiar with details regarding that child’s health. This is best addressed by that child’s healthcare provider. That being said, if the school is in a neighborhood with limited access to healthcare, the child might not be seeing a pediatrician regularly. In that scenario, the school report to the child’s parents on BMI might be a much needed wake-up call.”

What do you think of this tiny girl having a high BMI with her body type?

[Photo Credit: YouTube screenshot/KMBC]