BMI (My daughter and how school isn't helping)

Since when is a funnel cake an appropriate breakfast? I don't even know where to start.

My daughter's weight has long been as issue for me. I am not as thin as I would like to be - not big secret. I am an American woman (enough said, right?!). But for my daughter, I have really made an effort to say the right things, fill her calendar with activities and playdates, and never even buy white bread (let alone let her eat it). So when elementary school starts and I see the cafeteria calendar show up each month, I am stymied as to the planning that goes into it.

I have read all kinds of stories about schools who range from having no funding and can barely afford breakfast programs, all the way to programs of total health/no soda in vending machines/buying from local farmers and then assume my daughter's school will likely fall somewhere in the middle. But when from her lunch meal plan, salad is never a main option, water is an extra cost, and 75% of food is fried and processed, I realize that even a "good" school district can fall short. Don't even get me started on the once-a-week 40-minute gym class.

When that BMI letter comes home each fall, stating that my daughter has been weighed without my permission and evaluated as overweight, I can't help but be enraged that the school is a major contributor. As a requirement of registering, I have already had to provide the up-to-date paperwork from her latest doctor's physical, so I am clear on her health status. Do they think they are telling me something I DON'T know??

To be clear - when I send lunch, it involves soy milk, fruit, an appropriate portion for a sandwich and a 100-calorie snack. Compare that to the average school-provided "Mac and Cheese" meal with a cookie, container of sugary apple juice, and sliced fruit in syrup. And heaven forbid a week goes by when a parent hasn't sent in cupcakes for a birthday or the teacher hasn't handed out candy for some reason. Add in a snack (cookie, chips, pudding) during her after-care program and all seems lost. Short of being a food-nazi and making her crazy or self-conscious, I have to rely on an 8-yr old's food sense from 7:30 am to 6 pm. That is completely unreasonable and again, a major contributor to her weight issues.

I have taken on the personal expense and scheduling nightmare of various extra-curricular sports and dance classes to provide extra physical activity for her. To help in this odyssey, I am off to a nutritionist with her this month (before school starts) to get some education and motivation for us.

I am also going to start writing some letters to the school nurse and board about the state of the lunches. Offering whole wheat bread would be a start.