Body shaming? Manchester hospital labels toddler obese and tells mother to enroll him in a fitness course

A mother, who took her son to Manchester Hospital as part of the Government's Healthy Child Programme, was told that her toddler is obese and that she should enroll him in a fitness course.

Kelly Kinsella said she was enraged after being told that her two-year-old needed to slim down when he weighed two-and-a-half stone (16.4kg).

"My son is not obese. Yes he might have chunky thighs and arms but there isn't a bit of fat n his belly," Kinsella said, according to Daily Mail.

She said: "When the nurse told me about Kean being deemed obese, I could feel my temperature rising as I was fuming about what was being said.

A spokesman for Manchester City Council said the health checks are a part of a nationwide government programme to spot any potential problems rather than to "criticise parents or label children".

The 27-year-old mother said that she stopped them from telling her more about the fitness course as "it was just so ridiculous".

She even refused to take away the paperwork as she will not be enrolling her child in the course, the website reported.

According to Kinsella, who lives in Moston, north Manchester, her family follows a healthy diet and that her son is an active boy.

"He eats lots of veg, he loves broccoli and cauliflower and carrots. He eats steamed fish with veg and if he does have chips every now and then he'll always have it with something healthy like chicken.

"He doesn't eat crisps or chocolate - only once in a blue moon - and he loves his apples, bananas and oranges.

"She told me about the course offering advice on how to keep children healthy and motivated, but he's in nursery and he's never still. Anyone who knows him knows that he was walking at 10 months old and could kick a ball independently at 11 months, he's always on the move," the mother of three added.

Kinsella believes that the message given by the health checks especially to older children can have a negative effect.

"My 12-year-old stepdaughter is very self-conscious over the way she looks and the fact that they are starting to tell children at such a young age that they are obese is a disgrace.

"I have never heard of something so stupid and I can't believe the government thinks this is right.
'There are children starving, people homeless and all sorts of problems going on and they're bothered about a child's BMI, it's pathetic."

According to the website, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust is responsible for carrying out regular health checks. These are commissioned by the Manchester Council with criteria set by the Department of Health.

However, according to a Manchester council spokesperson: "It's important parents take children for their regular progress checks to assess their general health and wellbeing and help identify any potential issues so these be addressed as soon as possible.

"It's not about criticising parents or labelling children, just about working together to keep children healthy."