Florida mother outraged after daughter gets 'fat letter' from school

Letter said volleyball player was overweight

Lily Grasso pictured with mom Kristen Grasso.

A Florida mother is upset after her daughter's middle school sent her home with a letter that said she was "overweight".

According to the New York Daily News, 11-year-old Lily Grasso is 5 feet 5 inches and weighs 124 pounds. She is one of the tallest in her class and plays volleyball.

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But Naples Middle School calculated her Body Mass Index at a 22, which they said was overweight for her age.

However, the school had the wrong height on file, so that BMI was calculated as though Grasso were two inches shorter. In fact, her correct BMI is 20.8, which is considered healthy.

Grasso's mother, Kristen Grasso, is upset because she said she was really worried on how mistakes like these could negatively affect girls' body images.

Health screenings that calculate BMI are part of Florida law designed to help combat childhood obesity, but parents can opt out.

Photo courtesy of WFTX-TV

About the Author

Tara Evans is an executive producer and has been with News 6 since January 2013. She currently spearheads News 6 at Nine and specializes in stories with messages of inspiration, hope and that make a difference for people -- with a few hard-hitting investigations thrown in from time to time.

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