Today's Wall Street Journal has an article about parents upset over their children's school sending them a letter informing them that their child is overweight (and offering a free fitness class). Here's a quote: Receiving the letter was "embarrassing," Brittany says. Her mother, Mindi Story, a clerk at an Albertsons supermarket, says she seethed "pure anger" because, she argues, her daughter's weight shouldn't be the school's concern: "I send her to school to learn math and reading."

Some states (Arkansas, Pennsylvania) require schools to tell parents of their children's BMI. According to the article, 17% of children ages 2 to 19 are overweight, and this is three times as many as there were 30 years ago.

If my child was overweight I'd not be upset if the school told me this. I was slightly overweight as a child, and perhaps if someone offered me a free fitness class and sent a letter home telling my mom about the dangers of obesity I would have (with my mom's help) made the changes necessary to slim down.

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