Graded on girth?
It's no secret that we're a fat nation - the fattest in the world per capita. And it's also no secret that we'll be even fatter in years to come, because obesity in our children is rampant. The question is: What to do about it?
Some school districts around the country have taken small steps in the right direction, like outlawing vending machines, desserts, and soda-pop. Inexplicably, most of them still offer carb-heavy, nutrition-less entrees like pizza, macaroni-n-cheese, and mashed potatoes in the cafeteria, though, so I'm not sure if these token measures will have much of an impact...
But now, instead of making meaningful changes in the way they FEED our nation's kids, some schools are proposing that they simply pass the buck to parents - by making a child's girth just another "grade" on their REPORT CARD!
Yep, you read that right: If lawmakers in Texas have their way, kids statewide will have their BMI (Body Mass Index), this country's misguided standard measure of obesity, listed on their report cards every term - in effect "grading" them on their weight. In neighboring Arkansas, a similar policy of reporting kids' BMI to parents is already a matter of law. Needless to say, a lot of parents in both states are outraged, according to MSNBC and other sources. I'm torn about this course of action. Here's why:
On the one hand, studies have shown that parents have blinders on when it comes to recognizing their own children's weight issues. It's an interesting phenomenon that I remember reading about somewhere - some parents literally don't see the flab on their own kids, while being able to easily identify other children that are overweight. So in this respect, a "reality check" on the report card might not be such a bad thing.
But on the other hand, our schools tend to promote poor eating habits - like the deadly, diabetes-causing USDA Food Pyramid. If kids all of sudden begin taking their school's guidance more seriously because they're being "graded" on their weight, they'll get EVEN FATTER, especially if they eat in the school lunch-room.
It's a Catch-22!
Of course, what schools SHOULD do is teach truly healthy low-carbohydrate and refined-sugar, high animal-fat and protein eating habits for young kids - and stock their cafeterias accordingly. That, and revitalize the Phys-ed programs that are going the way of the dinosaur in public schools everywhere nowadays (kids are the one demographic that truly NEEDS a lot of exercise).
But that's a lot to wish for, and naïve to think it could ever happen. Instead, kids'll get report cards with "fat" grades on them and a bunch of token measures at school that won't help in the least, and may even hurt. Speaking of such, keep reading...
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Schools swap sugar for... More sugar!
When I've written before about public schools making small changes in the direction of healthier eating, I've rendered some tentative praise about such measures. But along with these kudos, I've always mentioned the same caveat:
Such changes will be good things only if schools replace these foods and drinks with consumables that are truly healthy. And one of the major concerns along these lines I've mentioned before is schools' often-trumpeted substitution of sweet fruit juices for soda-pop in vending machines: It's simply exchanging one type of sugar-water for another. This helps nothing. Now, I know what you're thinking: "Come on doc - ANY kind of fruit juice is better than a Coke, right?"
You be the judge. According to a recent Associated Press article, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that daily consumption of "sweet drinks" contributed to an increased risk of obesity among children - especially the younger ones. And what many parents (and schools) would no doubt find shocking is that according to the research, fruit juices were JUST AS MUCH TO BLAME for this increased risk as things like Kool-Aid and Coca-Cola!
I hate to say "I told you so," but I did. Repeatedly. So, what should they put in vending machines instead of fruit juice and soda-pop? How about this: NOTHING! GET RID OF THEM!
They'll never do this, though...
There's simply too much money to be made from turning our kids into obese, sugar-craving lumps of dullness and inactivity - and too easy to blame parents for it.
Giving our schools an "F" when it comes health,
William Campbell Douglass II, MD
