They are planning to send letters to the parents of obese kids in Britain.

[davsand]

Poll question: They are planning to send letters to the parents of obese kids in Britain.

This one is causing a huge debate in LBN. Lots of anger in the thread. (I will edit to add a link to the LBN thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3037961&mesg_id=3037961



Parents of obese children to get formal advice, report says
1 day ago

LONDON (AFP) — The parents of five-year-old children found to be overweight will receive a formal letter from their school warning them of the fact and offering health advice, The Times reported Monday.

Under the proposals, children aged five and 10 will be weighed in school and the results automatically sent to their parents. Under the current scheme results are only sent on request.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson is expected to publish the proposals next month amid fears that he will be criticized for stigmatizing fat children, the paper reported.

The routine weighing of primary school children was reintroduced two years ago to combat ballooning obesity levels...


See the full article here:

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5ilPtUt9eaHNVHmt87xaf7Jul-Qng


I'd like to see what DU thinks about this...


Laura

[MADem]

1. Other--one size does not fit all.

If they are using a set height-weight chart, they need to account for frame and bone structure.

The age 5 child of Tom Cruise (hahahahahaha...never mind...couldn't help it) and Calista Flockhart is going to be smaller and finer boned than say, the same age child of Refrigerator Perry and Roseanne Barr. There's genetics, there's heredity, there's height and frame. And there are TONS, excuse the pun, of ways to measure "obesity"--and weight isn't the best measure always. There's calipers, tape measure, the water tank for displacement--it's a fat to muscle ratio that needs to be considered, too.

And there's also that research that shows that obesity may be caused by a virus. If that turns out to be true, well, in any country other than the UK, which kind of says "Fuck it, whinger, we MEANT well" to anyone who complains when the government screws up, it would be lawsuit time--imagine excoriating a family, making them feel bad, making the kid feel like a fat shit, for something that turned out to be caused by a virus???

All 'food for thought,' anyway...

I think EVERY kid should get a letter with weight listed, and perhaps some nutritional guidance that might or might not be based on having the kid answer some nutritional questions over time (what did you have for dinner last night? Breakfast? What did you eat yesterday? At the weekend? etc...to get an idea of what even the skinny kids are eating--no veg or fruit, that's a problem).

To single out just the fat kids is dumb. The fat kid who eats a low-meat diet is probably gonna be better off, heart and healthwise, even with extra weight, than Little Harry Hereditarily Skinny, who eats fatty sausages, greasy chips and crisps all day but doesn't gain an ounce.

[LeftishBrit]

3. Good point..

This is all typical of our government's current approach: for every problem, set some sort of target and then send out some sort of memo about it. Bureaucracy run mad at the moment. It wasn't the way before Blair and it doesn't really suit the British character, which has always emphasized 'muddling through' and 'never troubling trouble, till trouble troubles you!'; and I suspect that most of these letters will end up in the bin, and the only parents who will take any notice, will be those who were already worried about their kids.

I'm all in favour of children getting health check-ups, and parents being warned of any obvious problems; but singling out weight just because it's this year's fashionable issue, is pretty stupid.

[MADem]

5. Half of my crew were "fat boys" ..... only they weren't

Using the USN method of measuring body fat, they were, but if you did a water displacement test on them, they weren't. Big, wide, but not flabby, baastids, strong with skinny necks--that'll screw ya on a USN PT test!

Off to get a permanent medical waiver with ye, laddie!!!!!

[juno jones]

2. I was just about to say that :)

Although not so well. Besides this is Britain. All of those children have medical care and I'm sure the doctors are already informing tha parents, if not, this law should be directed at doctors and not school faculty.

[nonconformist]

4. I think it's a good idea

Sure, many parents will ignore the letter, but if it makes just a handful realize that their child is at risk for some very serious health problems and a life of obesity and they do something about it, it's worth it. I think it's high time everyone stopped walking on eggshells around this issue, for fear of "insulting". I seriously don't get the argument that it will stigmatize and insult the children/parents to point out the OBVIOUS... I mean, if you are very overweight, it's quite evident by just looking at you. Not talking about it/ignoring it/pretending they're a normal weight isn't doing these kids ANY favors.

[dipsydoodle]

6. yer but, yer but , ner but..........

[LSK]

7. I think the right wing will use this as a red herring argument against Universal Healthcare

[alcibiades_mystery]

8. Barring a specific medical condition of the child

any parent of an obese child ages 2-10 is a child abuser, period. It's despicable.

[renie408]

9. My daughter is 5'4" at 11 years old and her pediatrician says she is on her way to being between

5'10" and 6 feet tall. Last week they had a fitness evaluation in school. She had to to push ups and sit ups and wind sprints. She can do as many push ups as most boys and as many sit ups. She was a little slow on the wind sprints (that's my girl. I am as strong as an ox, but about as fast). Anyway, she rides horses, jumps on the trampoline and is a very active kid. She was SO embarrassed because as part of their evaluation, they had to weigh...in front of all the other kids. She weighs more than most of the other girls in her class. She isn't FATTER, she is just HEAVIER. She was horribly embarrassed and now wants to go on a diet. The gym teacher told her she was not at all overweight for her height and bone size, but it doesn't matter. She told me that she wished she wore a size 'small' instead of 'medium' because, I quote, "In school, small is WAY better than medium."

She is a beautiful, healthy girl. I don't want her to worry about this stuff now (or ever, really).

[davsand]

10. I don't think weight by itself tells the full story.

Muscle is gonna weigh more (at least according to the personal trainer I've talked to.) If I am understanding the articles correctly, the Brits are looking for obese kids rather than kids who just weigh out at the higher end of the spectrum. I'm willing to bet that your daughter will be healthy and happy for life as lon as she maintains her activity level and diet.

I think that girls do get pressured to be "smaller" and I see it with my 10 year old. She is probably gonna end up average as far as her height, but when it comes to body type, she is probably not gonna be a gazelle unless she starves to do it. I am very serious when I say she came home from pre-school one day asking did she need to go on a diet. THAT creeped me out. I asked her where that came from, and she told me her teachers that day had been talking about how "fat" they were. kids get bombarded with this stuff ALL the time and I don't think people realize it.

My kid eats a balanced diet with an emphasis on whole foods and lean proteins. No big secret about it--my husband had a heart attack about 18 months ago, and as a result we now talk about healthy food choices and why we eat the foods we do. We also go to the gym together at least three days per week. It isn't that I want my kid to be a specific body type or even a specific weight. We do it because we think it is REALLY important to show your kids that an active lifestyle is something EVERYONE needs. Those lifestyle changes we made because of the heart attack were necessary for him and for us all.

Regards!



Laura