Medicina Comunitária e Educação em Saúde

Abstrato

Student and Parental Perceptions of School-Based Body Mass Index Screening and Notification

Monica Hunsberger

To address the childhood obesity epidemic, school-based body mass index (BMI) screening and surveillance is proposed or mandated in 30 states. We examined parent and student perceptions of school-based measuring and reporting in an ethnically diverse school district in Madras, Oregon, USA. Four broad themes emerged from focus groups held separately with parents and students. Students generally expressed a neutral opinion of BMI measurement. Parents felt that they held primary responsibility for their child’s weight. Parents and students perceived BMI notification as important; however, BMI reporting did not widely serve as an impetus for physician involvement or self-reported behavior change. Perceived barriers to behavior change included the lack of a supportive environment, poor access to healthcare, cultural issues, lack of concern over childhood overweight or a minimizing of health risks associated with overweight and poor understanding of the BMI graph and accompanied reporting of health information. Notification letters had limited effectiveness in this community.