Lawmaker wants BMI listed on report cards
This may be the dumbest idea I've seen in a while, Texas Democratic state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte want to put students' body mass index on report cards:
Texas school districts would be required to include the body mass index of students as part of their regular report cards under a bill introduced Tuesday by a lawmaker seeking to link healthy minds with healthy bodies.
Most parents don't even give a crap about their kid's grades, it's not like they care about their health either. If a parent is too dense to notice how flabby their kid is, then they're probably aren't gonna know what a BMI of 32 means. Bad grades in school and overweight little kids are caused by bad parenting as much as they are by gentics.
I'm not sure I'm a fan of my kid's school weighing them either. A monthly weigh-in is the last thing some kids need, to make it mandatory is ridiculous. Plus, BMI is horribly inaccurate if you're active and athletic. For example, Ray Lewis at 6'1" and 245 pounds has a BMI of 32.3. Do you want to tell him that he's morbidly obese?
Schools don't need to be raising our children, that is a parent's job. The more and more parenting responsibilities that schools take on, the fewer responsibilities today's parents are going accept. They already try to blame our schools and Janet Jackson's breast for everything their kid does, this would only exacerbate the problem.
The solution to overweight kids isn't to point out to their parents there is a problem, the solution is to get parents to accept that they are the problem.
Posted in Current Affairs | 9 Comments | Add yours
Comments
2 actionBERG said...
BMI tests do not cost any money. You simply use a person's height and weight in the calculation. That is why they can be so inaccurate. I sure hope Texas schools could afford a test that is free. :) Unless they are just bad at math.
Body fat tests would include water displacement and those definitely can be costly, but they would be a more accurate test.
Posted on January 20, 2005 at 09:16 AM
3 Matt said...
That was my mistake, I was getting them confused. I always thought they were one in the same. A BMI test is completely worthless. Brian is right, judging someone simply by weight and height and not taking into account bone structure, muscle tissue, etc. is worthless.
They will be as helpful as the standardize tests that Texas has though. Trust me, just because you can pass that test does not mean you could figure out the BMI chart. The tests are pathetic.
Posted on January 20, 2005 at 02:59 PM
4 Kathleen said...
This practice is ridiculous and dangerous. I work with people affected by eating disorders, both nationally and locally, to educate people about obesity -not as a child's problem, but as an eating disorder affecting every age, race, and sex. I don't focus on someone's weight, instead, our group focuses on how a person became unhealthy and then we work very slowly to get them on the road to becoming healthy -emotionally, physcially, spiritually, and relationally. On the other end of the spectrum, someone with an eating disorder, someone thinking of going on a diet who doesn't need to, or someone who's never thought of thier BMI before, can be triggered into starting, or going back to, an eating disorder. I have at least one friend who went full-force into her eating disorder after she was forced to get weighed at school and she died as a result. This practice doesn't solve problems. It creates them and it is insufficient to send home a number without educating parents (these are someone's kids, right? these 6 year-olds didn't drive themself to McDonald's, right?) about what is healthy for their child. Everyone's Healthy is different. HEALTHY at EVERY SIZE!!
thanks for your input, Matt!!
Posted on February 01, 2005 at 06:52 AM
5 Dorothy said...
This is one of the most ridiculous things i have ever heard of. BMI is so inacurate it is not funny. I used to have to help conduct this taping in the military and even with new regulations it is horribly misleading. What kind of an effect are you going to have an kids that have developed early or slow? What about the ten year old girl that is already growing breasts and could pass for 15? If she doesn't feel weird and self concious enough already lets tell her shes fat! And the boys that are growing tall and skinny or the ones that haven't lengthened out yet and still have a little bit of toddler/baby fat, what about them? These kids are way to young developmentally to be subjecting them to a test that can only cause problems and is so unecessary at this time. My children are not overweight,in fact one of my daughters is so active she has muscular legs and a washboard stomach an aerobic instructor would envy. Also because of her activity she eats as much as a lumber jack. My girls will not be taking this test if this legislation passes! If these tests are required i want it done by my own doctor, in the privacy of the office, not in school were there is no such thing as privacy no matter what the people in charge want to say.
Posted on February 23, 2005 at 02:52 PM
6 cathy said...
Can the school force me to have a bmi on my child? I am so sick of the goverment and school intrudeding in my life. My child gets good school grades is not overweight. Dont we have enoug kids that have eating disorders.i can see how kids will stave themselves because of this program. I am so against this. Kids in the 1800 ate lard and where everweight. We will always see people eat to much . Is this really just a ploy to intrude on our lives. Insurance co using this against us. If anyone knows if I can legally not have my child be put through this please let me know.
Posted on October 09, 2005 at 05:47 PM
8 nikki said...
i personally think it is up to the parents to decide if the want people to know about there childs weight. i mean yea alot of kids these days are becomeing more and more obesse but shouldnt it be up to the parents to decide what to do with there child and there kids over weight probllems not the government!!!
Posted on April 07, 2006 at 06:48 AM
1 Matt said...
BMI, if done properly is very accurate. If you take a BMI test such as water displacement it is not bad. However, schools in Texas can not afford books. How are they going to afford a decent test. This headline along with headlines discussing the removal of P.E. make me disgusted. It is simple. Rather than take care of our kids, pay attention to their education and feed them at night, we stick them in front of the TV with a freaking Big Mac. Hmmmm... I wonder why they are fat.
Posted on January 19, 2005 at 10:58 PM