Posted on 05/10/2005 9:50:21 PM PDT by beaversmom
Anger washed over Plano mother Annmarie Barajas when her 10-year-old son came home from school and declared, “I think I’m fat.”
Cameron Barajas, a Wyatt Elementary School fourth-grader, plays basketball, eats healthy food and packs on the muscle. But after participating in a series of tests to assess fitness as part of the school district curriculum, Cameron decided he was overweight, based on his body mass index, or BMI.
“I was a little upset,” Annmarie Barajas said. “I told him, ‘You’re not fat. You are proportionate to your height.’”
Fellow Wyatt fourth-grader Amanda Boland came to the same erroneous conclusion.
“She’s rail thin,” her father, Mike Boland, said. “She was a preemie and is still catching up. She’s 50 pounds soaking wet. I told her I thought (the BMI number) was wrong and she said she thought so, too.”
Principal Debby Moilanen said the school plans to send the BMI results, along with what they mean, home in a sealed envelope at the end of the year. The testing is part of the fourth-grade physical education curriculum and is facilitated through the Cooper Institute.
Although some districts already calculate their pupils’ BMI, a bill proposed by Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, would require schools to record the number on student report cards. The bill was sent in February to the Senate Committee on Education, where it has yet to be scheduled for a hearing, meaning the likelihood of passage is in doubt.
The legislation arrives as educators, legislators, parents and health-care experts are desperate to turn the tide on childhood obesity.
Van de Putte did not return phone calls seeking comment, but Richard Kouri, spokesman for the Texas State Teachers Association, said the buzz among educators is more about making sure physical education does not get squeezed out...
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
"“I was a little upset,” Annmarie Barajas said. “I told him, ‘You’re not fat. You are proportionate to your height.’”
WOW.
She followed that with......"now eat this cup cake and play with your X-Box"
"“I was a little upset,” Annmarie Barajas said. “I told him, ‘You’re not fat. You are proportionate to your height.’”
WOW.
She followed that with......"now eat this cup cake and play with your X-Box"
"Although some districts already calculate their pupils’ BMI, a bill proposed by Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, would require schools to record the number on student report cards""
What the h-ll is going on in Austin????
'Well son, you got straight A's, BUT, it seems you are a lard a--. Sorry, but you are grounded for the next semester'
I don't care what kids weigh as long as I'm not expected to pay for there future obesity-related medical problems.
In the latter case, Uncle Sam needs to start stringing up parents who let their kids eat too much. Don't tell me I have to pay for something that could have been prevented! Hopefully, at this point people will get fed up and do away with the nanny-state.
Do any government schools teach reading, writing and arithmetic anymore?
BMI is a terrible way to measure obesity. It doesn't take into account lean muscle mass, only height, weight, and "build".
I really don't believe that you have enough information for this insulting reply. I went to the link at DMN, but refuse to sign in there, but if you have info to back up your reply, then let's hear it.
"What the h-ll is going on in Austin????"
In the Peoples' Republic of Austin, the scope of the nanny state bloats like Rosie O'Donnell in a pie factory...
If I got a letter from school saying I was fat, I would be strongly inclined to challege the pudgy old fogey's on the schoolboard to a fight. See who is more "fit". ;)
Oh...don't you know...they don't have to make any sense or actually produce quality education programs....
However.....you must still give them more and more tax money when they ask for it.....which is every year.
But don't dare ask for accountability.
Saw your freeper name. So all I can say is....it will be better this fall when Spurrier takes the field.
It will give folks something to take their minds off of the insanity that is modern government.
"In the Peoples' Republic of Austin, the scope of the nanny state bloats like Rosie O'Donnell in a pie factory..."
So will they have to report their BMI as well....
Man, that guy seems to be happy. Living his own. Everything that the insaniacs down in Austin seem to be against lately.
And he probably would not raise our taxes.
I SAY WE ELECT HIM LT. GOV!!!!
He's gotta be better than Dewhurts...uh...Dewhurst
As a courtesy to the tax payers, perhaps there is a plan we can put in place to offset some of these costs.
1. Put a special tax on fast food restaurants and "junk food" grocery items.
2. Implement an after-school program where children can get more exercise by staying at the school (since obviously going home isn't healthy for them).
3. Sue manufacturers of obesity-causing foods such as potato chips and ice cream.
4. Encourage citizen groups to become active in their local communities.
5. Sue all television stations and creators of television shows that are marketed toward children and prevent them from getting exercise.
6. Ditto video game manufacturers.
7. Ban fast food restaurants in all communities that have children under age 18.
There now, doesn't that feel better? We've protected more people from themselves without forcing them to make a decision and limited freedom in one simple, seven step plan.
Maybe they should weight measure the teachers, school nurses, coaches, administrators and the like while they are at it.
Ask the feminists why so many kids are obese.
We had kids at our middle school start to have eating disorders after they started weighing the kids and measuring the kids' BMIs with some sort of electrical machine. I refused to have my (rail-thin) daughter participate. The school should be positively advocating enjoyment of physical fitness (rather than the "P.E. jock" mentality some of us came to hate in the "old days" where we were made to feel terrible if not particularly good at sports) and healthy eating and leave it at that. The school is not the parent, and it's not the school's responsibility to take over that role.
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