Text 7731, 92 rader
Skriven 2005-01-20 12:35:00 av Darryl Perry (1:106/324)
Ärende: F stands for FAT
========================
If schools are going to report on BMI, then they should take responsibility
for a child's BMI.  I think this is a case of too much government. 
Interestingly enough, so does the State Sen. John Whitmire, who happens to
be a Democrat.  Since when do schools step in to be the childs doctor?

If they are going to report a child's BMI, then I want to see better
lunches, fewer snack machines, and more education IN THE CLASSROOM about
fitness and nutrition.


Jan. 20, 2005, 5:53AM

F on report cards may soon stand for 'fat'
Proposal would require schools to send home students' body mass index
By JASON SPENCER
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, hopes giving parents
scientific evidence of their child's weight issue will help curb the state's
expanding obesity problem.

"I've been a pharmacist for 25 years, and what I see every day is just
heartbreaking," said Van de Putte, who describes herself as "fat and 50."
 
Van de Putte, who doesn't know her own body mass index, said she modeled her
plan after similar legislation that took effect last year in Arkansas. That
state gives parents their child's BMI in a separate health report, not in
their report card. Van de Putte said she'd be willing to do the same. 

State Sen. John Whitmire, a Houston Democrat, wasn't convinced that
gathering BMIs on schoolchildren is a good idea, regardless of how the
numbers are reported.

"It sounds like too much government to me," he said.

"Schoolteachers have many more critical matters to put on a report card,
instead of a ... What does BMI stand for?" he said.

A child's body mass index is calculated using age, sex, weight and height.

Under Van de Putte's bill, which she filed Tuesday, schools would be
required to provide parents with information about the link between obesity
and health problems.

Some parents said they'd prefer schools put their resources into teaching,
not monitoring their children's weight.

"I don't think that's the job of the school," said attorney Nancy
Rommelmann, who has three children in Spring Branch schools. "I want to pay
school taxes for my children to be taught."

More than a third of school-age children in Texas are overweight or obese,
according to the Texas Department of Agriculture.

Nationally, the childhood obesity rate has more than doubled for preschool
children and adolescents in the past 30 years, according to a September
report by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.

Overweight children face numerous risks, both physically and
psychologically, according to the national obesity report.

Heavy students are more likely to be teased by classmates, and face a higher
likelihood of contracting Type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea and hypertension.

"This could be the first generation to pre-decease their parents if we don't
act," said Van de Putte, who weighs more than 200 pounds and is seeing a
dietitian.

Although some parents might be put off to hear their child is overweight,
it's still a good idea for schools to give them the information, said Dr.
William J. Klish, professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine.

Klish is director of Texas Children's Hospital's new obesity center, which
he expects to open in about six weeks.

Many parents of obese children are unaware that their children are
overweight, Klish said.

"This obesity epidemic in America has changed our perception of normality,"
he said.

"Personally, I think it is a good idea, even though parents may resent the
idea that the school is reporting on their children's weight."

jason.spencer@chron.com

Gryphon, aka Darryl Perry
Sysop of Cyberia BBS, Kingwood, TX.
telnet://cyberia.darktech.org

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