Measuring Body Mass Index For Kids Still In The Works
By: Import User
Updated: January 7, 2009
Plans to measure the body mass index of
Arkansas public school students are moving forward.
Joe Thompson of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement says
pilot programs in six schools will be starting in the coming weeks.
They will fine-tune practices for screening all students for weight
problems.
Thompson says the department hopes to start the program
statewide by January or February.
A law approved by the Legislature this year requires the state`s
public schools to provide parents with an annual report of their
children`s body-mass index, a measure that helps screen for weight
problems.
State officials say more than 60 percent of adults in Arkansas
are overweight or obese, and 25 percent of the state`s high school
students are at risk of being overweight or are overweight.
