What do you think about the new school BMI questions?

[Mouse House Mama]

I think the schools do have a role, but that role should be limited to education about good health/nutrition and to providing healthful foods to the children they are entrusted with feeding. How hypocritical is it to have schools checking BMI and attempting to intervene to help kids who are overweight/obese when kids receving free/reduced meals can have a Pop Tart and chocolate milk for breakfast every morning?

There are a few things I think need to be done to help control the obesity issue in our country. I think our federal government needs to grow a pair, stand up to big business, and become a little more critical of the additives they approve for use in food. Several studies have linked high fructose corn syrup to overeating and obesity, but try to find a "kid" snack without it... It is in everything from fruit snacks to yogurt to ketchup to spaghetti-os, even most breads unless you're buying organic. But what do we hear about it? Solid nutritional studies get minimal press and the food industry takes out commercials on Nickelodeon promoting the safety of the crap. Likewise, there is growing evidence that artifical sweeteners mess with metabolism, but the common perception is still that switching to diet products is a way to lose weight.

Second, I think more needs to be done to encourage after school sports, particularly among low-income families. Many kids can't play little league or pop warner for lack of the $100+ registration fees, and many are stuck in afterschool care programs that don't offer much opportunity for active play. And as school budgets shrink and mandates grow, more and more districts are instituting "pay for play" for school-based sports programs, effectively eliminating the primary opportunity poor children once had to participate in athletics. Rather than worsening the problem by saddling schools with measuring students' BMI, we should be looking at ways to better fund such programs.

This is so true. I had a suggestion that many here did not even notice. Have the schools have family fun programs. Leave the gyms open in the afternoon or for 2 hours a night and organzie jump rope, obstacle courses, basketball, etc. Make it a family thing. Does anyone really believe that 2 obese parents are going to have any clue about what to do if they have an obese child? Trust me, they will think it is normal no matter what the school says.
Oh yeah, my kids can buy more junk at school than I have every bought in their lifetimes. I do not buy any of it because 1) It is pure crap 2) It is full of chemicals and HFCS.
Let's go on and on about childhood obesity and then let's serve up a steaming hot tray of lard and chemicals for the kids. Yeah, that makes sense.

 

[Colleen27]

I agree about additives in foods but it isn't THAT hard to find foods without them. We do. Also, why do you even need "kid snacks?" Those things are loaded with sugar and junk. Why not feed the kids what you eat? An apple is an acceptable snack...it doesn't have to be Sponge Bob Fruit Snacks...give them the real thing. Also, spaghettios? Are you serious. Feed kids real foods, not crap in a can, and you are easily able to avoid the HFCS junk. As people stop buying that stuff, the companies will stop making it. They are in the profit-making business and only manufacture what people will buy. Don't buy it and it will stop being made.

Also, does your school district really serve pop-tarts for breakfast? That is amazing. What type of feedback are they getting from parents that allows that to continue?

Kids *like* those kid snacks so parents buy them. I'm all about feeding my kids real food and they're pretty "adult" in their tastes most of the time (my 11yo in particular - his favorite food is sushi )but they still want fruit roll-ups and yogurt and that kind of thing and we still have days where we want something heat-and-serve because we're busy between school and bedtime. We solve the issue by buying additive-free or organic, shopping Whole Foods and Trader Joes, and making a lot of our own "TV dinners" in large batches to freeze, but I have the luxuries of time and money that can be spent on such things.

For you and me and other educated, aware, middle class parents, it is fairly easy to avoid additives, but for the low-income family for whom every penny counts, it can be extremely difficult. Bread with HFCS at our grocery is less than $1/loaf; the cheapest option without it is $3/loaf. Ketchup is $1/bottle with HFCS; over $3/bottle for the organic option that doesn't have it. The kids who need the most help are those who have parents who either don't know or can't afford to buy the better products. If the govt is going to get involved in reducing obesity, more closely regulating food additives would be a far more practical, effective place to start than mandating that schools track strudents' BMIs.

ETA: About the Pop Tarts... I've raised the issue with the school board but most parents seem to be happy with what is served. There is a hot breakfast option which varies from day to day and is better than Pop Tarts but not always good (pancake w/sausage, waffle sticks, scrambled eggs w/ham, etc). Other than the fresh fruit of the day and unsweetened applesauce cups, the cold breakfast options are pure junk - sweetened cereals, Pop Tarts, 'kid' yogurt packed with HFCS and food dye, chocolate milk. The most common response to efforts to improve breakfast offerings is that kids won't eat healthier food (And isn't that the same thing we've seen over on the Restaurants board in response to Disney's attempts to make their kids' meals healthier?).

 

[SharkyGoddess]

Oh yeah, my kids can buy more junk at school than I have every bought in their lifetimes. I do not buy any of it because 1) It is pure crap 2) It is full of chemicals and HFCS.
Let's go on and on about childhood obesity and then let's serve up a steaming hot tray of lard and chemicals for the kids. Yeah, that makes sense.

EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!! Remove the stupid vending machines unless they are water or juice only and stop with all of the stupid candy sales!!!!!!!

I only buy snacks here rarely and it's for a treat and you know what. My kids never even ask for the junk when I go the grocery.

 

[fussymonkey]

I remember hearing a food expert on NPR once. He made the case that for a family living close to the poverty line decisions about food purchase comes down to calories. If you know your child will feel full after eating a serving of kraft mac and cheese at 300 calories and that box cost .89, it would take five or six dollars worth of fruits and vegetables to provide the same feeling of fullness. Basically processed foods are cheaper per calorie.

My mom used to run a food bank. She simply couldn't get fresh fruit, vegetables, or even frozen veggies or meat for the food bank. It doesn't store well enough and its too expensive. She could feed a lot more people on $500 worth of boxes of pasta and jars of prego than on $500 worth of fresh foods.

Its easy to say "its easy to make healthy choices" but its not so easy for some folks.

 

[Colleen27]

This is so true. I had a suggestion that many here did not even notice. Have the schools have family fun programs. Leave the gyms open in the afternoon or for 2 hours a night and organzie jump rope, obstacle courses, basketball, etc. Make it a family thing.

That's a great idea, and a far better use of school/community health funds than weigh-ins and BMI evaluations.

 

[Colleen27]

I remember hearing a food expert on NPR once. He made the case that for a family living close to the poverty line decisions about food purchase comes down to calories. If you know your child will feel full after eating a serving of kraft mac and cheese at 300 calories and that box cost .89, it would take five or six dollars worth of fruits and vegetables to provide the same feeling of fullness. Basically processed foods are cheaper per calorie.

My mom used to run a food bank. She simply couldn't get fresh fruit, vegetables, or even frozen veggies or meat for the food bank. It doesn't store well enough and its too expensive. She could feed a lot more people on $500 worth of boxes of pasta and jars of prego than on $500 worth of fresh foods.

Its easy to say "its easy to make healthy choices" but its not so easy for some folks.

Exactly. The maximum food stamp benefit works out to about $1.50 per person, per meal. That doesn't leave room for $3 loaves of bread, fresh produce, or organic anything.

Our community is fortunate - though the community as a whole is blue collar/working poor and unemployment is high, we're a semi-rural town and the food bank gets a lot of donations of fresh produce and occasionally meat & dairy products from local farms and overzealous backyard gardeners (like me - I always end up growing more than I can eat or preserve ). Plus the 4H garden program my kids are involved in donates a share of their harvest and there is a community garden starting up this season to further contribute to that need. The urban poor are in a much worse position, a position that is compounded by a lack of full service grocery stores in the city. Food stamps don't go far at Krogers; they fall even shorter when the only grocery you can get to is the corner store.

 

[ilandrazdsw]

It is not only about choices or eating too much.

My kids are fed the same foods....one is chubbier than the other 2. Two of them are ideal height/weight and one isn't obese by any stretch, but he is chunkier.....he is FIVE YEARS OLD and is the 90% for weight on his chart. He doesn't wear husky clothing, but some of the slimmer cuts don't fit him well.

Just to say, I get tired of the "just choose to eat differently" when the kid is already eating differently.

We all have different body types and metabolisms. My husband is naturally thin and can eat anything and maintain his body weight. It is hereditary.

Me.....I am heading back to reading Dr. Phil's resistant weight loss chapter....

Dawn

Take into consideration too the children who have medical issues or are on meds that help along the weight gain.

 

[adoptionmomma4]

I have not had a chance to read all of this post. I think it is a very interesting topic and wanted to add my 2 cents.

I think that the public school is taking on too much responsibility for the students. They used to be in charge of educating a child and parents handled the rest. The school is now in charge of almost everything it seems. It seems as if each year there is something new added to the requirements of the school system. They are in charge of everything from education to healthcare and so many things in between. I am not sure when the poor teachers have time to teach (anything other than a test that is). I do understand that if many services were not offered in schools children would suffer and I do not want that either. However, the school system wears a lot of hats and sometimes when something is made to do to many things at once nothing is done quite right. KWIM?

As far as the schools requiring BMI, I am torn. I think it is probably a good thing for them to mention to parents when they see such a risk factor. On the other hand. If they are going to ask for that information and use that to discuss a childs weight and health they are asking for a whole new set of responsibilities. I feel if they want to be involved in a childs weight issues they need to change some things. First is the crap they serve for meals. When my kids were in public school (for 1 year) they were served horrible lunches and they were not cheap. The kids, even in elementary school, had the choice of what they wanted and small kids can not be depended on to make healthy decisions when faced with chips and french fries everyday. I also think they should have longer than 20 minutes for recess and more than 1 gym day/week. How can they say you as a parent need to make changes for your childs weight when they are not feeding them healthy food or providing the appropriate amount of time for exercise? They also need to stop threatening to cut sports each time a levy fails (at least in my area). The only people who will suffer are the kids who can not afford to play area little/junior league sports with their HUGE fee's. It is not fair to the the kids and it is not fair to lay all of the blame on the parents. The kids are sacked with several hours of homework after school and are getting little to no exercise during the day. It is such a huge issue and I think the parents, schools and the government need to work together to make a change for the good of our children.

For you and me and other educated, aware, middle class parents, it is fairly easy to avoid additives, but for the low-income family for whom every penny counts, it can be extremely difficult. Bread with HFCS at our grocery is less than $1/loaf; the cheapest option without it is $3/loaf. Ketchup is $1/bottle with HFCS; over $3/bottle for the organic option that doesn't have it. The kids who need the most help are those who have parents who either don't know or can't afford to buy the better products. If the govt is going to get involved in reducing obesity, more closely regulating food additives would be a far more practical, effective place to start than mandating that schools track strudents' BMIs.

I am thankful I have the time and money to do these things as well. It is not cheap to feed your family healthy and organic food. If a family was on a fixed budget every month and had to stretch every dollar it is almost impossible to do this. It is also not convenient for families with two working parents. If I was not a SHM my work load would be twice what it is now. There is no way I could can the yield from our garden, make fresh bread and cook each meal from scratch. I have all day long and I can barely get it all done as it is.

Exactly. The maximum food stamp benefit works out to about $1.50 per person, per meal. That doesn't leave room for $3 loaves of bread, fresh produce, or organic anything.

Our community is fortunate - though the community as a whole is blue collar/working poor and unemployment is high, we're a semi-rural town and the food bank gets a lot of donations of fresh produce and occasionally meat & dairy products from local farms and overzealous backyard gardeners (like me - I always end up growing more than I can eat or preserve ). Plus the 4H garden program my kids are involved in donates a share of their harvest and there is a community garden starting up this season to further contribute to that need. The urban poor are in a much worse position, a position that is compounded by a lack of full service grocery stores in the city. Food stamps don't go far at Krogers; they fall even shorter when the only grocery you can get to is the corner store.

You are exactly right. I saw an episode of Dr. Phil years ago where he basically told a mother (on food stamps) that she was soley at fault for making her kids fat. He also told her that is was NOT more expensive to feed your family healthy meals. He is wrong! It is twice as expensive. I have been keeping track of my own budget and it has almost doubled.

Since last year we have been eating all fresh foods. Very little will I buy processed. Pretty much cheese (which I order raw from a dairy in minnesota) and dairy is it. I have bought some organic cookies and crackers on occasion. Other than that I have been making everything from scratch. My BFF and I have started grinding our own wheat this year and using it for all of our baked goods and fresh bread. We also grow and either can or freeze our own veggies and as much fruit as we can. We have chickens now and will be getting our eggs from them this summer, but have been buying them from a friend until now. We also buy organic free range meats and poultry and organic fruits and vegetables if I can not grow it. I am thankful that I have the time and money available to do these things for my family. You would think that my grocery budget has decreased since slowly making these changes, but is has almost doubled. I know there is no way I could do all of these things on a budget of $1.50/meal per day for each member of my family. That is less than $800/month and I am pretty sure a family of 6 does not get $800/month in food stamps. I guess I am just trying to say eating healthy is expensive. If the schools want to watch BMI than they need to be in the position to implement some changes for the children as well.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

My district measures BMI by itself. It might be like that in my state.

I sometimes wonder whether it is the school's business to find out if my kids are fat, or have scoliosis, or have bad teeth.

 

[Tink_fanatic]

Exactly. The maximum food stamp benefit works out to about $1.50 per person, per meal. That doesn't leave room for $3 loaves of bread, fresh produce, or organic anything.

Our community is fortunate - though the community as a whole is blue collar/working poor and unemployment is high, we're a semi-rural town and the food bank gets a lot of donations of fresh produce and occasionally meat & dairy products from local farms and overzealous backyard gardeners (like me - I always end up growing more than I can eat or preserve ). Plus the 4H garden program my kids are involved in donates a share of their harvest and there is a community garden starting up this season to further contribute to that need. The urban poor are in a much worse position, a position that is compounded by a lack of full service grocery stores in the city. Food stamps don't go far at Krogers; they fall even shorter when the only grocery you can get to is the corner store.

I've read all the posts and want to add my two cents. I am on food stamps (let's go ahead and put it out there, nothing to be ashamed of) I get just under $300 a month to feed a family of four. Me, my daughter and my parents. Right now, I am the only morbidly(sp) obese one in the house. It is not easy to buy fresh fruit and veggies on that budget and more often than not I run out of money before we have enough food in the house for the month, so even the essentials like milk, bread, ect.. is a luxury for us.

My daughter went for her check in January around her birthday, and off the top of my head I can not remember her height (but she is tall for her age) but she is around the mid 40's weight range at age of 5. The doctor told me that she was a lil bit overweight for her age but should change once she started pre-school (which she did a week later...starts Kindergarten in August) but that threw me for a loop. My kid overweight???? I had flashbacks to all those horribles days in school with the teasing and whatnot and swore she wouldn't have to endure that, i hope anyways.

Her pre-school teaches them nutrition. I do not let her eat junk and most times she WILL NOT eat what they serve at school because she doesn't like it (she doesn't like hamburgers or hotdogs, something about them visually turns her away from them). I try to buy grapes, sliced cantaloupe, or whatever else catches her eye on the produce part of grocery store. And she'll eat those before she'll touch like Pop-Tarts. She'll see me eating like a bag of chips or something like that and will tell me "Mommy, that's not healthy for you!" and make me put it up. She wears a size 7 in jeans...i think they are little girl jeans. BUT they are for her height and not her waist line; i get the pants with the adjustable waistbands in them. But she still wears an XS t-shirt.

Anyways, I don't think they should measure BMI in school. I think it would cause undue stress on the kids. Teasing will commence (it's always there but seems worse when it comes to looks) and that is uncalled for.

Sorry such a long post but had to tell the story from a poor moms POV who tries her best.

And for me to be sooo overweight, I just had MY physical and I am pretty damn healthy. BP, is normal and no cholesterol. The only thing my doc wants me to do is lose this weight and I'm working on it

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I've read all the posts and want to add my two cents. I am on food stamps (let's go ahead and put it out there, nothing to be ashamed of) I get just under $300 a month to feed a family of four. Me, my daughter and my parents. Right now, I am the only morbidly(sp) obese one in the house. It is not easy to buy fresh fruit and veggies on that budget and more often than not I run out of money before we have enough food in the house for the month, so even the essentials like milk, bread, ect.. is a luxury for us.

My daughter went for her check in January around her birthday, and off the top of my head I can not remember her height (but she is tall for her age) but she is around the mid 40's weight range at age of 5. The doctor told me that she was a lil bit overweight for her age but should change once she started pre-school (which she did a week later...starts Kindergarten in August) but that threw me for a loop. My kid overweight???? I had flashbacks to all those horribles days in school with the teasing and whatnot and swore she wouldn't have to endure that, i hope anyways.

Her pre-school teaches them nutrition. I do not let her eat junk and most times she WILL NOT eat what they serve at school because she doesn't like it (she doesn't like hamburgers or hotdogs, something about them visually turns her away from them). I try to buy grapes, sliced cantaloupe, or whatever else catches her eye on the produce part of grocery store. And she'll eat those before she'll touch like Pop-Tarts. She'll see me eating like a bag of chips or something like that and will tell me "Mommy, that's not healthy for you!" and make me put it up. She wears a size 7 in jeans...i think they are little girl jeans. BUT they are for her height and not her waist line; i get the pants with the adjustable waistbands in them. But she still wears an XS t-shirt.

Anyways, I don't think they should measure BMI in school. I think it would cause undue stress on the kids. Teasing will commence (it's always there but seems worse when it comes to looks) and that is uncalled for.

Sorry such a long post but had to tell the story from a poor moms POV who tries her best.

And for me to be sooo overweight, I just had MY physical and I am pretty damn healthy. BP, is normal and no cholesterol. The only thing my doc wants me to do is lose this weight and I'm working on it

Thank you for posting this. It was very brave to put yourself out there like that. I can't imagine trying to feed a family of 4 on that little. It must be very stressful. I also think your ped is out of his mind if he thinks your dd is overweight. Good luck to you on your weight loss. I know how hard it is.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

This is so true. I had a suggestion that many here did not even notice. Have the schools have family fun programs. Leave the gyms open in the afternoon or for 2 hours a night and organzie jump rope, obstacle courses, basketball, etc. Make it a family thing. Does anyone really believe that 2 obese parents are going to have any clue about what to do if they have an obese child? Trust me, they will think it is normal no matter what the school says.
Oh yeah, my kids can buy more junk at school than I have every bought in their lifetimes. I do not buy any of it because 1) It is pure crap 2) It is full of chemicals and HFCS.
Let's go on and on about childhood obesity and then let's serve up a steaming hot tray of lard and chemicals for the kids. Yeah, that makes sense.

Sorry, had to edit, I mentioned the "R" word.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Sorry, had to edit, I mentioned the "R" word.

What is the "R" word?

 

[liv luvs disney]

I will add this to my ever growing list of reasons why I educate my children at home.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

What is the "R" word?

Religion. Read the new sticky, you can't have discussions about religion or politics anymore on the Dis. It's ok, I just mentioned it peripherally so I took it off because they'll close threads that talk about P or R now...

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Oh. Thanks for explaining.

 

[Tink_fanatic]

Thank you for posting this. It was very brave to put yourself out there like that. I can't imagine trying to feed a family of 4 on that little. It must be very stressful. I also think your ped is out of his mind if he thinks your dd is overweight. Good luck to you on your weight loss. I know how hard it is.

Thanx. I am trying hard.

The food stamps thing, sad to say, but its a way of life for many moms my age around here. Its not that I am not trying, I'm sitting on TWo degrees and can not find a full time job at the moment. As a matter of fact, most of my graduating class is suffering/struggling.

 

[Aristomommy]

Thanx. I am trying hard.

The food stamps thing, sad to say, but its a way of life for many moms my age around here. Its not that I am not trying, I'm sitting on TWo degrees and can not find a full time job at the moment. As a matter of fact, most of my graduating class is suffering/struggling.

Sorry to hear about that. I'm glad thought that the food stamps although not always enough, are there to help people like you. Does your community have food pantries that you could use to supplement? I hope you can find work soon in your chosen field.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Thanx. I am trying hard.

The food stamps thing, sad to say, but its a way of life for many moms my age around here. Its not that I am not trying, I'm sitting on TWo degrees and can not find a full time job at the moment. As a matter of fact, most of my graduating class is suffering/struggling.

It is such a tough time now for so many people. I am glad that you are able to feed your family but I am sorry that they expect you to feed them on so little. I hope things turn around for you soon.

 

[Tink_fanatic]

Sorry to hear about that. I'm glad thought that the food stamps although not always enough, are there to help people like you. Does your community have food pantries that you could use to supplement? I hope you can find work soon in your chosen field.

Thanx. Um, I don't know if we have a food bank in town. I know we had one set up after Hurricane Floyd came threw and flooded most of the town, but have not seen nor heard of one since then.

It is such a tough time now for so many people. I am glad that you are able to feed your family but I am sorry that they expect you to feed them on so little. I hope things turn around for you soon.

Thank you. I am working on it. Things will get better.