Is the Obama administration keeping track of our fat?

By Louis Jacobson
Published on Monday, August 30th, 2010 at 4:44 p.m.

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"The Obama Health and Human Services Department is planning to compile a federal health record on all U.S. citizens by 2014," including "each individual’s Body Mass Index."

Ann Marie Buerkle, Tuesday, August 10th, 2010.

Ruling: False | Details

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A congressional candidate in New York claims the Obama administration will be keeping track of your Body Mass Index.

It sounds like a claim from a chain e-mail, but it's posted on the website of a Republican candidate for Congress. Is Big Brother really going to keep tabs on your flab?

The charge was posted in a letter dated Aug. 10, 2010, on the website of Ann Marie Buerkle, a Republican who is seeking to oust Rep. Dan Maffei, a freshman Democrat representing a district in upstate New York.

The letter, addressed to "Dear Friends," was signed by the candidate herself. It said, "You may have noticed the latest 'product' from big government advocates in Washington. We now know the Obama Health and Human Services Department is planning to compile a federal health record on all U.S. citizens by 2014, and will include information on each individual"s Body Mass Index in the files. Some argue that an individual"s Body Mass Index indicates whether that person is dieting and exercising properly. We may all prefer healthy life styles, but I don"t believe the federal government needs to be involved in such personal matters. Instead, I advocate personal accountability and personal responsibility."

We checked the facts and found there were no such plans.