Mich. to require BMI reports on kids

AP ^ | 14 Sept 2011 | KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN

[Palter]

Gov. Rick Snyder plans to direct doctors in Michigan to begin monitoring the body weight of their young patients and provide the data to a state registry in one of the most extensive government efforts to address the growing problem of pediatric obesity, the Associated Press has learned.

The move would help track the state's growing obesity problem while opening the way for doctors to be more proactive in offering advice, Snyder spokeswoman Sara Wurfel told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The Republican governor will announce the initiative Wednesday as part of his proposal for improving Michigan residents' health.

The body mass index statistics for patients under 18 would be reported to the Michigan Care Improvement Registry but the children's identity would remain anonymous. The state already requires doctors to report how many children are immunized.

Arkansas came under fire when it passed a law in 2003 requiring that schools send parents annual measurements of students' BMI, which takes a person's height and weight into account when estimating body fat. The law was modified in 2007 to require fewer years of testing and to give parents more ability to keep their children out of the program.

Michigan's new monitoring system could raise similar concerns.

[Darren McCarty]

Rick Snyder was a RINO. That’s why. He won the primary because four conservatives also ran and split the vote.