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It may/it may not....but the fact you are doing something positive about it will go in your favour.

SWs are looking for the best parents for the child/ren they are placing and that includes health, finances, attitudes and many more things. Obviously BMI is one aspect of health and high BMI is linked to shorter life expectancy which is not what they want for a child, so it will be a factor to be considered.

My advice, is to be open minded, keep up the good work and listen to what the SWs have to say....some may be OK, some may have a specific figure in mind and want you to wait until you are there or to get to it before panel....I doubt anyone will make it an out and out "no" and even if they do you can look at other agencies. Approval is not an exact science....there are lots of grey areas and different agencies have different policies.

Adoption is a journey with many ups and downs and hoops to jump through...this is just a step along the way.

Good luck

Thanks. I’m feeling a bit more reassured. Will keep on with the weight loss and will get there eventually!

I think different agencies have different policies. My BMI was similar and I did lose a little bit of weight throughout the process but not that much. The medical adviser did write a big report as part of our PAR, but ultimately she didn't think it would affect my ability to parent. The important thing is that you demonstrate that you lead a healthy lifestyle, eg exercise and cook healthy meals and that you wouldn't pass on any food related issues to a child (children who come in to the care system do often have a lot of food issues already.) I think it also helps that I carry my weight really well so it probably looks worse on paper than I do in real life. My weight wasn't mentioned at either approval or matching panel. Good luck for your visit!

I think its pot luck. I remember being lectured about weight by an SW who must have been at least 15 stone! My SW and GP were fine, the medical advisor wanted me to have additonal tests for obesity related conditions such as diabeties. At the time I had just run a half marathon, been on a trek up mountains in Uganda and had a BMI of 32.
Everything was fine

My BMI is now 37. I have been overweight all my life, but for the first time at 54 I feel fat and unfit, even thought I train two or three times a week and as a non driver I walk a lot. I think you can get away with being overweight whilst you are young (er !!) but it does start to catch up with you.

My advice is to shift as much weight as possible but make sustainable changes to your lifestyle - though fife is too short not to have the occastional bacon bagel or bar of chocolate ! I am a classic comfort eater but now the holidays are over I will be making a concerted effort to shift a good three stone.

Thanks everyone. Initial visit on Thursday so keeping everything crossed that it goes well. Just started doing the Weightwatchers plan again too after being very overindulgent on holiday! Thanks for being so reassuring x

My BMI is 40, size 16. The gp did mention it on the medical report but there were no other health problems. Basically I’m fit and healthy just a little too chubby. The social worker also wrote in the par that she had no reason to believe this will affect our ability to parent.

I have had different experiences at panels. The matching panel for our daughter asked me if I was likely to pass on my bad habits to our daughter. I stated that we ate a varied diet full of fruit,vegetables and home cooked meals. We cycle, walk and go on skiing trips,so our children will be encouraged to have a healthy lifestyle.

On the approval panel for our new arrival I had been doing weight watchers, the gp on the panel asked how much weight I had lost, which was a stone at the time. The matching panel for this little one my weight was not mentioned at all.

Each panel has been different, your BMI in my opinion shouldn’t affect your application. You just might have some questions about it. Panel will ask all sorts of questions and it’s all part of the process.

Good Luck.

Hi. I had a high BMI when the medical examination was done. I was on WW too and was having some positive results. The doctor said he wanted me to keep trying to lose weight but that my weight would not affect my ability to parent. So in the end my higher BMI was ok for adoption. Best of luck!

With the first agency (although it didn’t work out) they wouldn’t take us to panel unless my BMI was under 40. With WW I managed to get it down to below 40 and this was no longer an issue. The second agency, which we have been approved with, my BMI was over 40 and it wasn’t an issue because I was able to show I was maintaining an active lifestyle and still doing WW. Hope this is some reassurance.