8th grader fires back on test BMI question, goes viral

(WTXF) - An 8 th grader from Indiana refused to complete a school project as it was assigned and her response is going viral.

The girl, who has not been identified, was asked to calculate her body mass index and give the definition for BMI. BMI is found by multiplying one's weight by 703 and diving by squared height in inches.

But instead of just answering with the number, she penned a two-page essay. A "proud" family friend posted her work on Facebook on March 30.

The girl describes herself as a "bigger girl" and writes about her body image struggles. She says that recently she tried "to wrap Ace bandages around my stomach so I'd look skinnier."

Her parents took her to the doctor, concerned and, "a man who went to college for eight years studying children's health [and] told me my height and weight are right on track."

She finishes her essay by writing that her BMI is "none of your concern" and also "beautiful," which she also describes her body as.

The girl also posed the argument that BMI is an outdated index that has "absolutely no way of discriminating [between] fat and muscle."

So proud of the family of one of my friends. Her daughter had to do a middle school project that involved...

A study published by Nature in March found that almost half of people considered to be "overweight" through measuring BMI actually have a healthy cardiometabolic profile. That profile is calculated using blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and other factors. Additionally, the study says that about a third of the "normal" BMI people had unhealthy profiles.

However, the CDC will present a study on Friday that argues in favor of BMI. It found that an infant's BMI at 6 to 18 months can predict those who are prone to obesity in early childhood.