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A new kind of report card: BMI scores for school-age children
Posted on Jan 19th 2007 7:29AM by Bethany SandersFiled Under: Nutrition & Supplements
When I was young, I received a kinder and gentler version of a report card. There were no grades, no percentages, instead there were rankings like Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor. Now, with today's push for academics, I can get behind a more accurate grading scale, but when schools feel the need to report on a child's Body Mass Index, I wonder if things have gone too far.
Several school districts in states like Delaware, South Carolina, and Tennessee have what they think is a new weapon in the battle against childhood obesity -- mass weigh ins. Children are measured and the results are sent home in a letter to parents. Though the childhood scale doesn't use words like "obese," these BMI "report cards" are damaging to some nonetheless.
I can see this issue from both sides. On one hand, childhood obesity is a major health issue in our country and I think the public school system has a responsibility to get involved. But in many of the school districts involved, they are handing out these letters in one hand and serving up funnel cakes and fried school lunches in the other. Wouldn't the funding be better spent on improving the quality of foods served in the cafeteria? Couldn't the purpose be just as well served by sending home a general educational letter on the dangers of obesity? What about sending home the BMI formula so that parents and children could find their BMI together? That might even spur on whole families to get into shape (and teach a little math in the process.)
What do you think? Do you think BMI report cards are a trend that should continue, or are they just setting kids up for heartache as they compare (or silently choose not to share) the "number" they received?
Several school districts in states like Delaware, South Carolina, and Tennessee have what they think is a new weapon in the battle against childhood obesity -- mass weigh ins. Children are measured and the results are sent home in a letter to parents. Though the childhood scale doesn't use words like "obese," these BMI "report cards" are damaging to some nonetheless.
I can see this issue from both sides. On one hand, childhood obesity is a major health issue in our country and I think the public school system has a responsibility to get involved. But in many of the school districts involved, they are handing out these letters in one hand and serving up funnel cakes and fried school lunches in the other. Wouldn't the funding be better spent on improving the quality of foods served in the cafeteria? Couldn't the purpose be just as well served by sending home a general educational letter on the dangers of obesity? What about sending home the BMI formula so that parents and children could find their BMI together? That might even spur on whole families to get into shape (and teach a little math in the process.)
What do you think? Do you think BMI report cards are a trend that should continue, or are they just setting kids up for heartache as they compare (or silently choose not to share) the "number" they received?
