11-year-old Lily Grasso is 5'4" (162 cm) tall and she plays sports

Oct 9, 2013 06:38 GMT  ·  By

An 11-year-old girl from Florida was dubbed overweight after a mandatory test revealed that her BMI was too high for her build and age.

However, Lily Grasso is 5'4" (162 cm) tall and weighs 124 pounds (56 kg). She is a player on the middle school volleyball team and her mom tries to have her eating healthy meals.

"Lily is tall, athletic, solid muscle - by no means is she overweight," Kristen Grasso says.

The BMI assessment was part of a health screening carried out at the Naples middle school. Grasso got a ”fat letter” sent to her home, which included a warning about her child's weight issues.

She is outraged and believes that the test results do not reflect real issues with Lily's weight.

"So many people don't say anything because who wants to be the family with a 'fat' kid. Well we are ready to stand up and say it is not right," Kristen tells the Orlando Sentinel.

The test was conducted by the Collier County Health Department and mandated by Florida law. Kristen argues that it does not include an expert's opinion.

"You want to measure Lily's health and development, then you better be a doctor who spends more than 3 seconds with her. Not a high school student helping administer health screenings," she says.

Grasso originally believed that Lily's vision, hearing and overall development would be tested. She worries about her daughter and other girls her age developing self-esteem issues over the BMI readings.

"Like Lily said, this letter did not hurt her, don't let anyone define who you are! Be active, be healthy and if you are concerned with your health talk to your parents," Kristen adds.

Experts say that the BMI readings could cause depression and even trigger an eating disorder. Some students describe dreading them.

Do you think that they should be outlawed in schools? Leave your opinion in the comments section.