As Obesity Fight Hits Cafeteria, Many Fear a Note From School

The New York Times ^ | 1/8/2007 | Jodi Kantor

[Eric Blair 2084]

Six-year-old Karlind Dunbar barely touched her dinner, but not for time-honored 6-year-old reasons. The pasta was not the wrong shape. She did not have an urgent date with her dolls. The problem was the letter Karlind discovered, tucked inside her report card, saying that she had a body mass index in the 80th percentile. The first grader did not know what “index” or “percentile” meant, or that children scoring in the 5th through 85th percentiles are considered normal, while those scoring higher are at risk of being or already overweight. Yet she became convinced that her teachers were chastising her for overeating. Since the letter arrived, “my 2-year-old eats more than she does,” said Georgeanna Dunbar, Karlind’s mother, who complained to the school and is trying to help her confused child. “She’s afraid she’s going to get in trouble,” Ms. Dunbar said. The practice of reporting students’ body mass scores to parents originated a few years ago as just one tactic in a war on childhood obesity that would be fought with fresh, low-fat cafeteria offerings and expanded physical education. Now, inspired by impressive results in a few well-financed programs, states including Delaware, South Carolina and Tennessee have jumped on the B.M.I. bandwagon, turning the reports — in casual parlance, obesity report cards — into a new rite of childhood. Legislators in other states, including New York, have proposed them as well, while some individual school districts have adopted the practice.

[Eric Blair 2084]

Mommy Pelosi says its "For The Chilruns". So don't worry, everything is OK.

[Eric Blair 2084]

Big Brother, Nanny State, Grant Junky, Social Engineering, Health Nazi Ping!!!

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____________________________________________________________________

Constitution of the Left Wing Nanny State of Liberals.

Picture courtesy of unixfox. All rights reserved. Copyright MMVII. Any use of the pictures descriptions or accounts of this ping without the express written consent of unixfox, Eric Blair, or Major League Baseball is strictly prohibited. Some restrictions apply. Ping not available in all states.

Preamble:

We the People Sheeple of the United States Nanny State, in Order to form a more perfect Union Socialist Utopia, establish Justice Socially engineer a country of non smoking, physically fit, tea totallers, insure domestic Tranquility Smoking bans in bars, limits on unhealthy food and social drinking, provide for the common defense Universal Healthcare, promote the general Welfare health of the population whether they like it or not, in order to save above mentioned Universal Healthcare entitlement program from bankruptcy, and secure the Blessings of Liberty Dependency to ourselves progressive liberals and our Posterity Hitler Youth who we brainwash through public school education, do ordain decree and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Nanny State of Liberals.

[YoungAmerican84]

You know, they might not have this problem if they still had gym class...

[endthematrix]

"Holly Berguson, the homecoming queen at North Penn Junior-Senior High School here, wears a size 20, a fact cited by her many admirers as proof of this community’s generous attitude toward weight, its proud indifference to the “Baywatch” bodies on television.

“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.”

With that attitude, she'll lose limbs at 40 and dead by 60.

[endthematrix]

Just doing anything besides sitting in front of the Play station and eating crap food.

[Eric Blair 2084]

You know, they might not have this problem if they still had gym class...

Judging by your screen name, you would be a perfect person to ask. They really don't have gym classes at certain schools anymore?

[sheik yerbouty]

The same people screeching about obesity led the fight to end mandatory gym classes. Typical liberal apparatchiks..

[weegee]

I had fat teachers when I was a kid. Will the NEA force their suspension until THEY get down to a politically correct BMI? And just WHY do crackpot scientists think that men and women should have the SAME BMI?

Just what we need, another reason for kids to get poor self image and start a pattern of starvation, purging, and medical abuse to lose weight.

[weegee]

Sports were "unfair" because people kept score and dodgeball was "cruel".

[Eric Blair 2084]

Sports were "unfair" because people kept score and dodgeball was "cruel".

What would John Wayne say about all of this?

[cobaltblu]

My son only had gym every other week. He's homeschooled now, and we go play at the Y every other day. In good weather, we spend all Friday at the park with buddies too.

He was the only one in his class that brought a sack lunch that didn't have chips and/or soda everyday. The meal the school offered had only fried foods or pizza.

[Goldie Lurks]

Children grow and develop at different rates.

First graders should be spending their instructional time learning how to read and write NOT standing in line having their BMI measured.

[cricket]

So; just when the campaign for more normal models is engaging; with the hope of diminishing the 'sickness' of thin . . .the school's decide to pressurize their population with ideals of thin or 'fitness'-without fat; a vision, which we know for young girls and now boys. ..is more often a 'subjective' observation.

Sorry the focus is not on learning; but rather creating additional angst. . .and in turn, a need for drugs for stress and depression and no doubt weight control - unless, of course; they decide for the more immediate methods of dealing with such. Add the need for therapy or just more therapy; and not just minds; but now bodies. . .condensed into a collective Education profile; and we have a wonderful new diversion from the necessary Educational tasks at hand.

So they want more. ..a Government Nanny is not enough. We need a new classification; a 'Special Agent' as Official WEIGHT WATCHER. . .not of their 'pounds' of course; but rather, your childs.

You can see the 'win/win' here; as they go for the lose/lose and by whatever measure.

If they can seriously consider such implementations 'for the children'; than these measures should be first mandated at the 'top' of the food chain - so to speak.

Let our Congressional Leadership be the first, to initiate and implement such measures in their own workplace dining rooms or wherever; they may indulge themselves with lunch. The Deparatment of Education can go on record as well; bring in all School Boards. . .School Administration into the program.

If they still think this is a great idea after one or two year trial. . .they can share the results; and we can have the option to vote on it at Election time. .

[cricket]

That said. . .goals - no matter how 'good' . . .cannot be justified by 'collective means'.

Food nazis need to find that environment that nourishes them - so many countries wanting! Meantime, Life is not perfect; people are not perfect. . .GET over it.

If Life was supposed to be perfect; God would not have created Liberals!

[jerry639]

At the high school cafeteria when I was in school, they had their own way of limiting how much a student ate.

The food Sucked!

[jerry639]

Children grow and develop at different rates.

You are correct. I've seen boys in the 6th grade who were short and appeared overweight grow to a slender 6 ft 5 inches by the time they were in their second year of high school.

[Goldie Lurks]

School Administration and teachers weighing themselves and measuring their BMI. That will not happen.

There are hundreds of over weight administrators and teachers employed in school districts around the nation.

[Smokin' Joe]

But now the fat kids can have 'eating disorders' (bulimia and anorexia) too!

What a winner for the social serpent set.

Sheesh! It used to be that being the fat kid was hassle enough, just from your peer group.

Face it, if we can keep kids and parents preoccupied with this type of social engineering no one will notice they are not learning to read, do math, and write .

[SheLion]

Here is a student............

And another student:

[sig226]

One more blow for mass ignorance everywhere. Yes indeed, mom and dad, if you're too stupid to notice that your kid wears a size 20 dress, the government will now point out to you that she is 100 pounds overweight.

Where do you get a kid's size 20 dress? I don't know too much about dress sizes, I know that 20 is morbidly obese for an adult and kid's sizes aren't the same. This must be the real reason people are buying SUVS, because their children won't fit in a sedan, or the car doesn't generate enough torque to accelerate the kid to freeway speed.