Student's Body Fat % on Report Cards
 

heard this on the radio this morning, found a *very* brief article http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp...1&nav=0s3dVVLw

statelawmaker in Texas is trying to get a student's body fat % put on their report cards.

What do you think?

Is there a public fat circling ceremony? There really needs to be one.

Has humiliation ever helped anyone lose weight? I would really like to know the statistics on it. If it's such an effective tool, no one would be overweight because they woiuldn't want to be put through such pain.
All humiliation does is cause warped eating habits. A person will starve themself in public and binge in private. I personally feel that humiliation will cause nothing but an eating disorder.
Why do people think this will work?

Maybe because its easier than pulling candy vending machines out of schools.

The cheer coach at my daughters' high school was real big on trying to humiliate them into losing weight. She'd weigh them in and loudly announce their weight. One girl developed anorexia during her senior year and last I heard, still has it....hottytoddy, if you see this, you know who I mean.:(

There is NO reason to humiliate people.

Reminds me of the drill team at my high school. The choreographer/director was some washed-up never-was Rockette type who allowed the dancers to weigh 100 pounds for five feet of height and 2 pounds for every additional inch.

Several of my friends were pretty, healthy girls who turned into walking skeletons for the "honor" of shaking their sequin-covered asses during halftime :(

That sounds like my rowing team in college. Because I worked out 4 hours a day after class, and because I ate (and drank!) with all the rower boys, my "freshman 15" was more like 30 lbs. of muscle. When it became evident that I wasn't really going to drop anymore weight...things went downhill fast.

Which is all that needs be said.

Would it humiliate people? The kid dosn't have to show the report card to anyone but his parents.

Is it more humiliating than a F-grade?

It seems more like an invasion of privacy issue and something that is not what schools are there to do.

I remember always comparing report cards though, and if you made a big deal out of not, everyone would bug you about it.

This would be much more humiliating than getting bad grades, IMO. They need to go back to decent lunches and disallow kids from drinking pop in school.

I agree...but it's not just pop. Juices have just as much sugar in them as pop does. They need to remove the junk food from the cafeterias. My highschool serves Pizza Pizza (an Ontario pizza chain). Other highschools had Tim Hortons and other fast food outlets. They are loading up the cafeterias with corporations and they aren't serving healthy lunches. I think schools should only offer healthy lunches or get rid of a cafeteria all together. That way kids are forced to bring their lunch or go off campus. And if parents are the ones providing the lunch money they might be less inclined to give them money so they have to leave school on their lunch hour.

The problem with the "There's no need to humiliate people" argument is that plenty of parents DO NOT realize that their kids are unhealthy. Or how unhealthy they are. Especially if the parents are obese themselves.

I totally understand the paranoia about enforcing unhealthily low weights, or publically announcing weight in gym class (I was weight-conscious by age 9 -- I still remember comparing my weight to every other girl's in the class when our gym teacher announced weights out loud in fourth and fifth grade). But this isn't something that public, nor is it designed to humiliate kids or promote anorexia. It's designed to let people know that having a BMI of 32 at age 12 isn't safe.

The problem with healthier lunches and removing soda machines is that it doesn't matter what you're providing when the attitudes towards food are coming from home. Many school districts have mentioned that they've tried to serve healthier lunches and KIDS WON'T BUY THEM. Or kids are bringing their own unhealthy lunches from home. It's not the school's fault -- by the time the kids get there, they've already been inundated with messages (mostly from parents) on what's acceptable to eat and what's not.

I think that most parents won't care about the BMI. If their kid is overweight, they either know it already or they're so deep in denial that they'll ignore it. I can't think of one set of parents who would go, "Whoa! What a shock! Could my kid be overweight?" if they got a card that had a high BMI.

Sad, but true.

You could just make it a peer-vote. Have three categories:

Too-skinny
Average range
Fat

The teacher could hold up silhouettes as examples and have a show of hands.

Then they just add that notation to the report card . . . and send it home.

This is what you'd hope, but it's not true. There have been plenty of studies done that show that many, many people who are overweight or even obese think that they're perfectly healthy, and that often this carries on down to their kids (people who are overweight and don't realize it usually also don't realize it when their kids are overweight). They just look around and think, "Oh, he looks like half the other kids in his class, so he must be normal," not realizing that half the other kids in his class are overweight too.

On a report card for the parents, I don't see this as humilation since it's private statistics for the parents.

My question is, what do they do once they determine an obese child needs help? Do they force them to take part in an additional recreation class during school? Are they walking around with a scarlet "O" on their chests and only allowed to buy healthy food?

I think if you attack some weight problems when you're young, then maybe it can set you up for a healthier lifestyle for when you're older. A person who's aware of the risks in their current eating habits might feel better about themselves if they see results.

I support new ideas and experiments to problems like these. I would be very interested in hearing the kids thoughts and comments if they have an opinion regarding this policy.

I don't know. I just don't see it making any kind of difference. If a kid is overweight, you know the kid is overweight. Parents can see it. How is putting the childs BMI on a report card (which by the way is not always accurate in determining health problems) going to help? Will it suddenly open the parents eyes on say "oh well I thought little Jimmy was just carrying around his baby weight, but now I see his BMI is at 32, he must be fat!"

And I still think it's pretty humilating for a child to go home and show his/her parents their BMI. No one likes going to home to show their parents a bade grade, what kid is going to want to go home and show their parents a bad BMI?

Aren't report cards mailed home (or emailed probably). I feel like I went to school in the stone ages and that I'm part of a breed of kids that had to bring papers home to mommy and daddy to sign, such as report cards...

Anyway, what age group are we talking about here? Because when I was a kid, up until middle school, I don't think anyone gave a crap about good looks or weight problems.

Sometimes parents, because they are around their child all the time, don't really compare them to skinny or fat kids and just may not realize how serious the problem is. Plus, if everybody in the school is fat, then you think your kid is normal:)

Fat american children are a growing problem, and apparently a serious enough problem to get a school board to make such a recommendation in Texas. I'm just not believing a child is going to be humilated by a body fat index on their report card. And I think until a kid grows up and is able to make decisions about their own body, the parents shouldn't stop trying to promote a good and healthy lifestyle.

Is there even a better idea to attack the chubby children problem because it would be nice to hear suggestions that you think are not humilating. To me, any recognition of a person's weight is going to be attached to some type of embarassment.

As a mother for over 23 years, I can guarantee you that unfortunately, the huge majority of parents whose kids register a high BMI will not care.

i don't think it's a school's business to have to monitor a child's weight. that is the job of the pediatirician and parents.

are schools then going to be responsible for making children lose weight? that's not what schools are for. they can teach about health and good habits, but enforcing them are the parents jobs!!

That's just it. We're older. Things are different. I'm not sure how old you are, and you don't have to tell me. But when I was in elementary school, body image and weight wasn't something that most people concerned themselves with, but I can remember being with my girlfriends in grade 2,3,4 and so on talking about our weight and how we didn't want to be fat. It's gotten worse. Kids are so concerned now with image it's disgusting. Young girls are dieting, they are concerned with what kinds of colthes they wear, etc. It's a much bigger issue than you think.

The solution has to start in the homes, and it's not. Some parents just don't give a crap anymore. I have to agree with Carnation.

I don't think it's the school's responsibility to control the weight of the students, but they are the only ones that seem to care. I think schools should make phys. ed. a mandatory class up untill graduation of highschool. Sometimes that is the only exercise children get. Their should only be healthy lunch options in the cafeteria, and healthy lunches can taste good too. They just shouldn't serve things like burgers and hotdogs and fries or pizza.

I don't know, this just doesn't sound like a plan that is going to work.

just curious, why should kids suffer if the parents are not smart enough to help them? I agree, the school is for learning, but this is technically on the educating side. Maybe a couple parents will learn a thing or two and the kids may be more aware of their bodies. Schools teach health classes, sex, and other subjects that you would consider a "parent's job." If a parent is doing his or her job, then the child wouldn't need help.

I think there really is a problem that in american society, more and more children are becoming fat and not enough is being done about it before it's too late. I think the first person that should be embarassed about an overweight child is the parent. And if the parents won't care or take responsibility to fix the problem, then why stop the school's from taking a shot at it?

I absolutely agree, and therein lies the problem. It's the parents fault and some parents just don't care. This is not going to solve the child obesity problem. Maybe there needs to be some kind of consequence for the parents if their child's weight is out of control?

it's rather simple really. if parents are dumb enough to not realize that 200 pounds is not a healthy weight for an 8 year old, it's their problem. teachers are there to teach. like i said already, they can teach about nutrition and exercise, etc. but the PARENTS are responsible for keeping their kids healthy! this is part of schools' problems now--parents don't want to take responsibility for their own families. don't put blame and responsiblilty on teachers if a child is fat. put it on the PARENTS; that's the only place it belongs.

The lunch idea simply does not work. As many, many people who work in the field of education understand, if pizza, etc. is not available, kids don't buy lunch, they just bring trashy stuff from home or go off campus if they're allowed to. Offering healthy options at the expense of junk food is not, at many schools, financially feasible. If it was, it would have been done a long time ago. In some schools, mandatory phys. ed is not financially feasible either. Even in those where it is, it's usually not a class that gets anyone except the most dedicated going enough to burn a significant amount of calories. At my school, gym was fifty minutes. Take off ten-fifteen for changing clothes, attendance, etc. That leaves 35-40 minutes for actual activity, which probably will not be high-calorie burning. I might burn MAYBE (a generous estimate) 150 calories in a gym class, which will burn off, oh, half a slice of pizza.

I think people need to think this through instead of just spouting off some opinion with no research behind it. All of these suggestions take money. Our schools are underfunded as they are. Our district got a couple million dollars from Coke every year to keep vending machines in the school. Why the hell should they pull that contract and lose out on the money when, if there's no soda machines in the school, kids will just bring their own from home or go down the street to buy some?

but then the problem is who enforces it. police? the health department? and then what would they do--fine them? take the kids away? i can only imagine the controversy and craziness that would ensue. (it would be kind of nice though if it could work!)

obesity is a MAJOR problem. parents need to cook healthy food and stop going to mcdonald's 5 times a week.

There are parents who don't even care what their kids' grades are--in elementary school. Do we think that they're going to care about their kids' BMI, if they even know what "BMI" stands for?

Plus, so many parents are in denial about their kids being fat anyway, passing it off as "baby fat." There are even some who think that it's a sign that they're "healthy," and that it's GOOD that their child has "meat on their bones." (Of course, they're completely oblivious of the differences between being too thin, maintaining a healthy weight, and being fat.) Until we get rid of these ignorant attitudes, we will continue to have generations of unhealthy kids.

I was trained to be an evaluator for the Consolidated School Health Index/Program. It is a program that takes an overall approach to helping students stay healthy. It even involves the parents. It also teaches children about choices they can make for themselves in cases where they are left to feed themselves.

Some staples of the program include allowing students to drink water during school, removing unhealthy foods from vending machines, offering counseling to identify problems they might be facing, making parents aware that only healthy foods are options for snacks they bring for the entire class, increasing physical activity in and out of school hours, making cafeteria food healthier, etc.

It really brings the parents into the process. It makes them aware of simple choices they can make to improve the health of their families.

I will admit that I was extremely skeptical of the program. But, after seeing the test results from my hometown's schools increase and truancy decrease, I was impressed. There are only a few schools in the nation that are pilots for the program. My hometown is one of them.

I believe this would be much better than simply putting a percentage on a piece of paper.

Why give someone information that they have a problem and not help them to find a solution? If they are going to give that info out, them they should also give out some info on how to become healthier/reduce their percentage. The CSHI would do that.

/rant

Edited b/c I can't spell.

I realize that some of the suggestions require money. I also said that I didn't have any of the answers and these were just my personal opinions. I know it's going to take a lot more than an uneducated opinion to help solve the issue of overweight children.

But by the same token, not every activity requires a lot of money. How much money do you need to have the children go outside for half an hour and complete a fitness program? Say, jumping jacks, push ups, some running/jogging? There are activites that don't require equipment. Have the kids run or walk for half an hour. I've seen the kids at my local elementary school running and walking along the sidewalk as part of their phys. ed program. That's all they do. How much money do you need to get a kid to do that?

I also don't think it's a bad thing to offer healthy choices in a cafeteria. I also think it's easier to control at the elementary level, maybe not at the highschool level. Some schools already tell parents their children can't bring foods containing peanuts into the school, why can't they say some thing like "no chips, no sugary sodas, no cookies, etc"?

If people are going to lay the responsibility on the schools then the schools need to come up with something. Anything.

But like others have said, it's not the school's job to do it, and I personally think they should leave well enough alone. If they don't do anything parents will eventaully have to take some responsibility.

How much money does it take to have kids complete a fitness program? Let's see. First you need to hire a gym teacher and make sure you have a gym, plus a variety of different equipment. Having kids run outside is a risk issue, because you can't watch them all at the same time, plus it's just not feasible in some climates to do it year-round. Most young kids, regardless of weight, are just not conditioned to run for long periods of time, plus (speaking from experience) most of them HATE it and get bored very easily, and would soon refuse to do it. Plus, with the limited time period that most gym classes allow (45 minutes to an hour, 2 to 5 days a week depending on the school) and the fact that they can't force kids to participate to maximum calorie-burning effect means . . . like I said, the actual calories burned are usually not enough to burn off a glass of milk, let alone counteract obesity.

As you said, "if the schools are going to be held accountable, they need to come up with something." Putting BMI on report cards is one thing they CAN do that requires minimal financial effort. I think it's hilarious that people don't care that schools can't get decent computers for our kids to use, yet they think they should be giving them personal trainers and diet assessments or something.

I guess if that's how most of you feel, i can't argue that. You're right, it really isn't the school's business to monitor or get involved in the health of children. I don't think they intended to humilate the children, but I did not know that children can become anorexic even as young as 2nd graders.

Parents should be responsible, and nobody wants to take over the child's control. Maybe putting this information on a report card is a bad idea, but I think the message they are trying to send is a postitive one. Well, i'm assuming it's a postitive one, but we know that money is always at stake with these legislators. Gauging the responses here, it's not likely this will pass anyway.

While I don't believe that a BMI should be on a report card, and I definitely believe that parents have some responsibility, I also believe that the school holds some responsibility too. You also forget that some children have medical issues that have led to their obesity. I have two overweight children. They are both severe asthmatics as well. Any intense cardio sends them into asthma attacks and each of them are on prednisone a few times a year, which puts on the weight FAST. We eat very healthy at my house. I pack their lunches and include a low fat sandwich with diet/high fiber bread, a salad, a fruit and a low fat drinkable yogurt. They buy school lunch occasionally. However, I am continually getting bills from the school because my son buys something from the "snack cart" every day, even if I haven't put money in his lunch account. He buys cookies, ice cream, etc. He also connives junk from his friends. Addmittedly, they are with their dad half the time and HE doesn't give them healthy food ever. Their lunch when they are with him consists of a sandwich, cookies and chips. He always has chips and cookies sitting on the kitchen counter, along with chocolate cake and other assorted goodies. It's like a junk food buffet constantly. He insists that my son isn't "fat", he's strong. Well, he's not, he's fat. My daughter has been trying very hard to eat healthy and is very slowly losing weight, but it's very slow without the intense cardio she really could use. Each time one of them is on prednisone, they gain a huge amount in a few days and it doesn't go away.

I have talked to the school about my son's snack cart habits and they say that they simply can't police it. I have gotten them every type of active indoor toy I can find (DDR, a pogo stick, a treadmill, hula hoops, these moon shoe things that they can bounce around in) but they are definitely limited in what they can do outdoors in our climate. I am trying really hard, but face a lot of obstacles. I also am concerned about their self esteem. Once you have a self-image of being 'fat', it's difficult to rid yourself of it. I was an overweight child but was in a good weight range in high school. I still considered myself "fat", even when I weighed 130 pounds and looked darn good, I thought I was a cow. When I look at pictures of myself in high school now, I think "What was my problem?" I had been put on extremely strict diets as a child and learned that way to "sneak eat" and binge when I could get my hands on the good stuff. Those are very difficult habits to break once they are ingrained. I live in fear of creating those problems in my own children.

So, we are trying very hard to live a healthy lifestyle, exercising and eating right at MY house. They have too many other influences.

Oh yes, and school snacks! In the early grades of elementary, I was asked to send an a.m. snack, p.m. snack and a snack for latch key. So, in the 9 hours they were at school, most kids would eat 2 meals and 3 snacks! I would send healthy things, but I know that sometimes they managed to mooch cookies, chips, etc. from friends who didn't eat much.

It is easy to say it's all the parents (and I admit, their Dad is terrible and I've talked to him and even had the pediatrician talk to him), but there's so much more to it than just that.

Dee

I think it's an idea that won't do anything, but hey if the school's think they're helping fine!

I don't think schools should be taking responsibility and their first priority is to provide the students with proper education tools like computers. Like I said before this isn't going to work. Parents just don't give a shit anymore.

Heather - I know you said that kids won't eat something healthy and just won't buy lunch. That is somewhat true. My high school got rid of the old meat/potatoes/veggie/dessert lunch because half of it was ending up in the garbage and went to an all a la carte menu. They had many varieties of pizza, stromboli, a salad bar, taco bar etc. and it was much more expensive so the kids only bought what they would actually eat. Maybe we didn't get the minimum RDA of every single vitamin, but it was better than McDonald's overprocessed garbage. At least it was prepared by our friendly lunch ladies on the premises.

This is what happened when a school district around here sent out letters telling parents their kidlets were obese.

And there was a story on the news about how some elementary schools only have 10 minutes of recess a day. The kids are pretty much chained to their desks and the school is not promoting exercise at all. I'm not saying recess will make fat kids skinny, but it is definitely a factor.

I think that article was a postitive look at sending parents information about their overweight children. A certain amount will assume it's a shot at their failures as a parent and get all defensive, while a good amount of others will reach out and see if there is anything else they can do to help their children. Sometimes parents think they know it all just because they made the child. And then there are other paretns who are so frustrated with trying so many things and then they get this letter which puts them over the top. So they yell at the school because they can't get mad at the kid or themselves.

I know there are kids out there who have serious medical problems or eating disorders that are very difficult to fix. However, there is a great amount of kids that fall into obesity because of bad habits at home and during school. The parents that claim it's none of the school's business are the same ones that complain that schools aren't doing enough in some other area of their child's education.

I just think that most of these parents should stop getting defensive so instantly and think about what's best for their child, and not think that school's are trying to humilate them.

I want to respond to something Dee said.

I understand your challenge because I was an obese kid. When you want your naughty snacks, you find anyway you can to get them. Parents can try ALL THEY WANT, but if a kid wants their snack, they will find a way to get it....Do you know how sneaky and smart we fat kids are? All you do is ask three different friends for a quarter...BOOM you've got snack machine money!

I could go on and on about this, but I just wanted to tell Dee that I can sympathize for her situation...

Last month my friend's daughter went to the pediatrician who reported that she is 25 pounds overweight. Since then she has begun a diet and workout program and has lost 11 pounds. Weight is such a touchy subject especially for girls, but I think that this girl was handled with sensitivity. I think that she has been successful because she was given tools to lose weight. She knows to eat three servings of fruit each day and to exercise for at least half an hour four times a week, and she does it. She also limits her snack intake. She also seems to be in a better mood which I think is the endorphins from working out.

AGDEE, I'm sorry to hear about your children's struggles with weight and asthma. I think as a mother you can only do so much. From what I have read, you are doing it. It must be so frustrating to have a school cafeteria and an ex who are not supporting your efforts. All that you can do is be a good example for them. When they are ready, I suspect that they will be open to your suggestions for healthy eating.

Can you imagine the crap these kids will have to go through if they do this? I mean, being this age is hard enough without your body fat % being placedon your report card.

The kids will be comparing %'s, there is no doubt about it. I do think something needs to be done, but not this. I think they shoudl send a letter to the parents maybe, but don't make it a public thing for the poor kids, for heaven's sake.

it's amazing isn't it? but it's definitely true. i taught kindergarten and i had a girl who REFUSED to eat during school. i was always in contact with her mom because i was concerned, and she was concerned as well. but there was nothing i could do to make her eat.

this year i teach 2nd grade, and the girls are BRUTAL to each other. some of them make fun of each other's weight and they all compare clothes. it's the saddest thing. i always have to have talks with the class about not judging people based on appearances.

young children see skinny people and weight issues on tv, as well as in their homes. it's sad, and yet fascinating, that my 8 year old kids are already "watching their figure". times have changed.....

I have actually considered trying to fight for full custody based on my ex-husband's lack of concern for the kids' weight. They did tell me today that they all joined a new community rec center and went swimming and walking on the track three times last week with him. I told my daughter to weigh herself and sadly, she gained a pound. She said to me "It doesn't matter how much I exercise if we eat out and get fast food all the time". One of the epidemiologists at work is doing a research study on family education and I think I'm going to try to get us in the study, if my ex will agree to it. He will have to go with us to nutrition classes which are geared toward teen/pre-teen girls. I also spotted some nutrition info about fast food places in her office and I'm going to ask her for one to share with my girlie. I'm hoping that if I give her the tools to make healthy decisions, she will make those good decisions on her own. She used to resent getting any info, but when I was on Weight Watchers, she started to ask how many points SHE was eating. We made a list of snacks (healthy and junk) and how many points they are and it's posted on the fridge. Then, if she's scavenging in the kitchen, she can look at the list and figure out the best options. A co-worker gave me the new CORE program for WW and I'm going to share that with Shannon too. I think it might be easier for her to focus on that type of program rather than counting the points since her dad isn't going to weigh or measure anything. If she lost 20 pounds and then maintained her weight, she'd grow into her weight within a year or two.

Thankfully, the kids haven't been too brutal to her. She's a smart, sweet and very caring and mature young lady. I think she's just so nice to others that most of them don't pick on her at all.

Dee