Fat report dies needed death
February 20, 2005
Very few bills get the kind of reaction as one introduced
- and quickly dropped - in the General Assembly last
week. With all good intentions but very little forethought,
a couple of House Democrats introduced a bill that would
have had school teachers weighing their students twice
a year and reporting to their parents on, basically,
how fat their children are.
No, it wasn't a joke - and the bill met with just the
opposite reaction: Outrage. House Bill 498, would have
required schools to list each individual student's body
mass index (BMI), a measure of whether they are overweight,
on their report card. The intent was to provide a "wake
up" for parents who may not know their children
are obese.
Clearly, adolescent obesity is a problem that needs
serious attention. Public health officials have estimated
a third of middle schoolers and a fourth of high school
students are considered borderline or over their ideal
weight. Low self esteem as well as health problems such
as diabetes are exacerbated by excessive weight gains.
But if parents don't have the ability to look at their
child and conclude whether or not that child might possibly
have a weight problem, listing the child's body mass
index is not going to lift this veil of ignorance. It's
not the fact that children are overweight that needs
reiterating; it's the reasons why.
The Legislature has been reluctant to mandate legitimate
steps schools could take to address student obesity.
Most involve improving the nutritional value of school
lunches while lowering the caloric value. School lunchrooms
should provide meals low in fat and simple carbohydrates
and high in fresh vegetables and whole-grain products.
And, school vending machines with high-sugar content
soft drinks or non-nutritive candy and chips should
be removed.
Other initiatives schools need to take are providing
students with appropriate physical activity to burn
off excess calories and teaching nutrition in the classroom,
information that children could take home to their parents.
Most bad eating habits come with the child from home.
The ill-fated bill may have at least gotten people
talking about constructive solutions.
Source:www.macon.com
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