Beginning this school year, Wareham Public Schools students, and all public school students in Massachusetts, will undergo state-mandated Body Mass Index screening in school.

In 2009, the state Public Health Council approved the regulation, which requires public school districts to measure the height and weight of students in grades one, four, seven, and ten, and use those figures to calculate Body Mass Index, according to the state Department of Public Health.

Body Mass Index calculations can determine if a child has a healthy weight compared to other children of the same age and sex, according to the Department of Public Health. Children with a high Body Mass Index are more likely to become overweight or obese as adults and are at a higher risk for illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes.

Body Mass Index calculations range from "underweight" (under 18.5) to "obesity" (30 or greater). (Click here for an online Body Mass Index calculator)

School nurses, and in some instances, gym teachers, will be completing the measuring and calculations, Superintendent Dr. Barry Rabinovitch said at the Sept. 22 School Committee meeting. The results will be kept private, but will be sent home to parents, as required by the state.

Rabinovitch expressed frustration with the new requirement, saying that though he understood its positive health benefits, he did not think the responsibility should lie on schools.

"My first thought was, here is another issue that is taking our focus away from where it should be, which is on student performance," Rabinovitch said.

School Committee members also raised concerns.

"I am very concerned that the information is going to somehow get out, [and] there will be humiliation involved," said School Committee member Geoff Swett. Swett also pointed out that there is debate about how meaningful the Body Mass Index calculation is. The calculation doesn't take into consideration the difference between fat and athletic muscle, so very fit people can score the same as unfit people in the same height and weight.

The School Committee's Policy Review subcommittee will now examine the state's regulation and put a School Department policy in place to its effect. Committee members vowed to find a way to keep all information as private as possible.