So, your kids a fatty... BMI = TMI on report cards?

Originally posted by RicoMarston

Originally posted by Michelle129th
reply to post by RicoMarston

 

by that logic, failing students should be able to graduate the same as the passing ones. it's my right to raise an unintelligent underachiever if i want to, right? so the school's shouldn't be allowed to tell me if my child is failing or not, they might feel different from the kids who work hard and get good grades. if we aren't allowed to point out areas of deficiency, then how do we fix them? if the kid is way too fat, then the consequences would be handled in the school. when your kid fails a class, do they call CPS? if your kid fails gym, then they could use a type of tutor/physical trainer, use physical ed detention, etc.

your second paragraph is perfect genius though. if the schools would focus again on physical education and healthy foods we wouldn't even need this debate. if we had a nation wide revamp of cafeteria and gymnasium standards, the fat kids would all but go away. then the ones who are fat due to natural causes or emotional problems could be dealt with from a more administrative standpoint. maybe BMI on report cards doesn't fix the problem, but if it can get people thinking and talking about the fact that there is a problem, then better solutions will arise naturally. either way, parents talking about the health of their kids is always a good thing.

Sorry, I should have specified that school is there for academics only, not personal, health, or religion "ideals".

Of course the schools should point out that our child is failing or doing poorly in an academic subject. That's what school is for. Doctors are for pointing out medical concerns.

I agree with you that people need to get thinking and acting on this, but I guarantee you this is not the solution...or even a partial solution. If by the op's logic, obesity is due to lazy parenting...I highly doubt an extra box on the report card will get them motivated to do anything. I wish I had the answers, but i don't...I just feel that the school's need to keep out of what I feel are family/personal issues and stick to academics.

Michelle

Originally posted by warbird03
Reply to post by RicoMarston

 

It takes a little more time and effort but they could measure body fat percentage. That's what they did at my high school, especially for us wrestlers since we had a required minimum.

 

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wrestling was by far the most traumatic of my sports experiences, so i've blocked it from my memory! but yes, i seem to recall the process of dropping weight involving science and math somehow, one of the many reasons i quit the sport. i still love watching it, but damn is it hard to keep in the shape you need to stay in to be even moderately successful. thinking about how strictly our weight was monitored and controlled, it seems easier and easier to implement a toned down version of "making weight" to the general school population.

reply to post by Michelle129th


you raise a good point; if you fail in school and generally "fail" in life, it's going to affect me. you might become homeless and depend on my assistance. you might turn to crime and steal from me or kill me. you might turn to confidence tricks and screw me out of my hard earned resources. so if you "fail" at health, does it affect me? if more and more of our fellow citizens become less and less capable of providing for themselves, protecting themselves or contributing to society, doesn't society suffer? you may be correct that the extra box on the report card won't solve anything, but i don't think removing the physical aspect from schooling would either. sure we go to the doctor to tell us about our health, but he doesn't prescribe mandatory exercise and dieting, he can't. there is no school for health, there's only school. i think it starts at school, and the kids will bring it home. not the other way around.

reply to post by greeneyedleo

Well...when they implemented this for the sports programs in my son's school, it was, I'm almost certain, for liability and/or insurance reasons. I, however, was thankful that they actually cared about such things and viewed it as a positive. He was a wrestler, and some of them tend to do some unhealthy things, like cut or gain weight rapidly for weigh-ins, and if no one (coach, parents) happens to notice or even (shudder) support such unhealthy practices, this can be a dangerous thing.

I honestly don't have an issue with this additional metric combined with other already existing health tests. It's useful and a positive thing for the kids to be aware of so that they can take responsibility for their own health.

I do have issues, however, if some brainiac legislators or education administrators want to make a move to put this on a report card. That would be the equivalent of something like a child having high blood pressure or asthma being put there. Again, it's a medical issue and should be handled as such.

There was a similar thread here last year. Don't remember what the exact situation there was. I'll see if I can find it.

Originally posted by greeneyedleo
reply to post by thepixelgarden

 

We are all just mouthing our opinions based on nothing.

That's exactly how I feel about this whole situation. I can't even imagine how this BMI report decision came to be.

"Childhood obesity is a big problem. We need to come up with some solutions."
"I agree. What are we going to do?"
"Well, we're going to inform the fat kids that they are fat."
"... I think they probably already know that. What are we going to DO about it?"
"Well, we're going to put it in writing."
*facepalm*

reply to post by greeneyedleo


I'm sorry, I was under the impression this was common knowledge by this point and that if somebody by chance hadn't heard of this topic they could perform a 2 second google search...

Here is a link

articles.latimes.com...

Arkansas, yet another state to start adding health BMI reports to report cards.

This is quickly becoming the common trend and I see no chance of it stopping.

reply to post by RicoMarston


If physical education can bring your gpa down, why shouldn't your physical health? Just playing devils advocate?

reply to post by Michelle129th


That is incorrect... Physical education as well as physical testing are still currently a graded subject in schools. Your adherents grade can be effected by your ability to throw a football, run around a track, or pass a physical fitness test!

reply to post by Michelle129th


And putting this on a chords report card can also inspire a child with lazy unaware parents to pay attention to their own eating habits. It is possible a child can be heading toward obesity without realizing it's a problem, especially if they are eased in an over weight home!

reply to post by thepixelgarden


I agree BMI by itself is not the answer, it's a start in the right direction.

And it might seem silly or unnecessary, but putting things in writing does have a psychological effect!

This is why employers use "write ups" as a form of punishment and make you sign them! You think whether you sign that paper or not will have any baring on their ability to fire you? Not in Illinois or most stated anyway, unless your union.

Just because a parent is lazy doesn't mean they want to appear that way! If the schools bring the issue to attention, and no medical reason explains the issue (thyroid, diabetes, etc...) then action should be encouraged. Maybe not graded (yet) but taken notice?

If you physically abuse your child, they will step in and take them away.

If you have an otherwise healthy child and feed them excessive amounts of unhealthy food product to the point of extreme obesity 250-300 pound 10 year olds, nobody does a thing?

I'm not saying every parent with a slightly heavier child is a bad parent, But there is a line when that child becomes extremely over weight!!!

NO, BMI is crap, it only works if everyoneis the same height and build. We do not live in a "perfect "society where everyone is the exact same.

reply to post by oubliette


So would you be for a more accurate measuring system, one that actually measures body fat? There are several of them out there.

***Bioelectrical impedance analysis

***Anthropometric methods

***Skinfold methods

Just to name a few

Source: en.m.wikipedia.org...

Or... Are you against the whole concept of schools offering parents advice when it comes to the physical well being of america's youth?

reply to post by oubliette


BMI is merely another tool in the toolkit we use to monitor the health of a human as a whole, not the be all, end all indicator of obesity. Combined with other indicators, in the hands of and with the results interpreted by a properly trained professional, it has some value in health monitoring. It also might give a person a target to aim for and improve upon if things as a whole do go awry. I don't see a huge issue here.

reply to post by sparda4355


Hmm, I never thought about the psychological effects of it.

I just think that if it's becoming such a big issue (and I'm not arguing that it is), maybe a more effective step would be to educate the kids about food and health. Do they do this in school? It's been awhile since I graduated, but they didn't when I went to school.

I think it's necessary because food is much more complicated now than it used to be. Companies are deceptive. Look at those commercials that encourage you to eat corn sugar.

So instead of just telling an overweight person what they already know, I think schools should try to be a solid voice of knowledge and reason that cuts through all the confusing half-truths that gets marketed to us. That would be a real first step.

The truth is that fat people:

Should pay more for a hotel room as they make beds, carpets, elevators, etc wear out faster

Should pay more for plane tickets, cabs, trains, etc. there higher weight does force higher fuel usage and leaves lees room for the remaining passengers.

Should pay more for the food they eat if they overconsume. it ends up costing everyone more for food because the overeaters are taking up an inordinate supply of food.

Should pay more for just about everything, they wear out carpets faster. put more stress on our bridges, sidewalks, roads, etc.

In fact when you weigh it all, fat people cost society much more than smokers do and such should be required to pay higher taxes as well.

if you are fa,t take steps now as this will be coming your way at some point. Quit being selfish and start thinking of your effect on all of humanity.

reply to post by thepixelgarden


No they do and are teaching kids healthy choices and nutrition (at least by government standards which aren't that great anyway) but they are sending home extra info and focusing on those that are considered obese by BMI standards.

reply to post by greeneyedleo


Interesting you say that because my BMI is driving me crazy I am on high protein diet, exercise to death, this been all my life, I am the right size for my body but my BMI is high.

I think I just going to ignore also, perhaps been on high protein. But when I go on low fat diets I gain weight!! weird.

Reply to post by sparda4355

That's precisely what my high school did. They didn't even bother with BMI. They used a scale to automatically measure body fat for everybody and then for us wrestlers there was a more manual method.


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reply to post by sligtlyskeptical


...wow

reply to post by sparda4355


My child is a "fatty," as you say, and if anyone ever called her that to her face, I would probably rip that person's face off. I'm a very non-violent person, but my child has a severe metabolic disorder. She has had it since birth. It isn't hereditary. She eats healthy and I get tired of people just assuming that she is sitting on the couch, chowing down on junk food when this is not the case. In her 13 years, she has seen so many doctor's that I have lost count. None of them can figure out what is going on with her. She has another appointment on the 19th of this month. I want them to be able to help her, but it's hard to hold out any hope. She gains, on average, 20 pounds every three months. No amount of controlling her food has helped. We've tried everything imaginable. It doesn't work. She eats healthier than anyone I know. Doesn't matter. I'm tired of people assuming that because she is morbidly obese that it is because she eats junk food. It pisses me off to no end. I've done everything I know to do. NOTHING has worked.

If her BMI shows up on her report card, I'll start so much hell with the school system that they wont know what hit them.

I'm aware that this thread is aimed more towards those children who do sit around and eat potato chips and little debbies 24-7 so maybe I shouldn't sound so upset, but it hit a nerve. If it was her fault, it would be different and I guess it would be easier for me to see the other side of the issue, but as it stands, my daughter keeps on gaining large amounts of weight, through no fault of her own, and I don't know what to do anymore. And I'm scared of how all of this is going to turn out.