You get your child's report card, look it over and see how they are doing in Math, Reading, Art, and then at the bottom you see what your child's Body Mass Index (BMI) is.
That is what is going to happen the next school year in Boston according to this article.
Kids that are in first, fourth, seventh and 10th grade will be weighed and measured and the results sent home to the parents with some explanations as to what the number means and recommend where to go from there.
I'm kind of split on this. On one hand, with the child obesity epidemic getting worse I think it's a good idea to at least give parents a heads up that their child might be running into a problem.
On the other hand, is it really going to make a difference? Will the parents take is seriously, or be offended that you're calling their son or daughter "fat", or with they just look at the number and say "whatever"?
Will it cause a possible anxiety among very young kids that could possibly now view themselves as "fat" to where they might go the other way and stop eating all together as this part of the article points out:
A 6-year-old who learned she was at the top end of what is considered healthy for her age and height started eating significantly less, reported The New York Times.
"My 2-year-old eats more than she does,'' her mother told the newspaper.
Although at the same time, I think the schools are sending a mixed message by reporting concern about the child's BMI but at the same time, continue selling regular sugary soft drinks and fatty goods in the school cafeteria and barely teach physical education and nutrition in classes (as reported in this article in the New York Times).
I know I'm going back and forth on this but this quote from the New York Times article kind of irked me:
''I don't care how big I am,'' said Holly, 17, who is insulin resistant, a condition that often precedes Type 2 diabetes. ''It's not what you look like, it's who you are.''
She right but at the same time, I don't believe the school is doing this in order breed a bunch of skinny models, it's about reducing the number of kids from having health issues (and since she's 17 and already is insulin resistant, she's already headed in that direction).
Maybe this is headed in the right direction, but maybe not. There's a lot of misinformation out there on health and fitness and I guess my final thought is that if schools are going to do this, sending a "fat" report card home with a BMI number on it along with a briefing on what it means can probably cause more harm then good because it's only giving half the story.
Physical education and Nutrition classes need to be a staple of school curriculum starting at even the level of first grade to teach a healthy lifestyle rather than just reporting on unhealthy lifestyles.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
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