Body Mass Measurements Scratched From National Curriculums

Teachers have also been told to avoid terms such as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ when describing diets.

Grade one students enjoy returning to the classroom at Lysterfield Primary School on October 12, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

Australian teachers are being warned not to calculate the Body Mass Index (BMI) of students, to record food intakes, or to use terms such as “good and bad” when describing diets.

The new food and wellbeing curriculum resource removes 340 references to the word BMI and replaces it with terminology such as “balanced nutrition.”