Student Body Mass Index Scores
Schools Push To Share BMI's of Students on Report Cards
Wyoming came out of the snack closet last week to reveal their program to make residents healthier by reporting student Body Mass Index (BMI) Scores on report cards!
When Campbell County, Wyoming schools made the news last week, many parents across the nation decided they did not make the grade for sensitivity.
On May 8, 2007, ABC News shocked the snack cakes right out of student hands when it became known Campbell County would now enter Body Mass Index Scores (BMI) on student report cards. What wasn’t widely reported was that the reporting of the BMI on report cards was but a single piece in an entire tapestry of a school corporation trying it’s best to make a positive impact on the health of student bodies for a lifetime by encouraging healthy eating habits, learning how to incorporate physical activity into their daily routine, and also by learning just what constitutes a healthy diet.
Resources are made available online for parents, students and teachers alike in order that they all work together as a team to reach healthy goals The goals, as outlined by the Campbell County Schools are simple, but succinct:
Goal #1: Schools will adopt policies that ensure all foods and beverages available on school campuses and at school events contribute toward eating patterns that are consistent with Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Goal #2: All children, from pre-kindergarten through Grade 12, will engage in quality daily physical activity/health education opportunities that help develop the knowledge, attitudes, skills, behaviors and confidence needed to be physically active for life.
Along with these goals, website users can click on two companion sites: Wyoming Action For Healthy Kids and Alliance For a Healthier Generation. These sites give additional information to everyone who is interested in other states which are incorporating healthy living skills into their programs and what is pushing this latest trend in education.
One of the goals of the Wyoming program is to insure…
“School(s) will adopt policies that ensure all foods and beverages available on school campuses and at school events contribute toward eating patterns that are consistent with Dietary Guidelines for Americans.”
Many parents (wrongly) assumed school districts across the nation were already monitoring the nutritional value of school lunches and snacks, while providing traditional physical education classes and other physical activities while at school; sadly, schools would probably get an ‘F’ if parents cared to delve deeper into what should be a given when dealing with children.
Knowing Campbell County Schools are looking out for the best interest of their children is of no consolation to parents of students in the district and beyond. Many see the reporting of BMI’s as an unnecessary intrusion into the private life of the child and his/her family. Still others insist reporting BMI's will make children focus even more so on unrealistic body images.
Proponents believe students who are healthier make better grades, therefore, this makes schools responsible for nutritional education; more parents wonder where this new program fits in among budget cuts, fleeting Phys Ed classes and already overloaded teachers.
How about the parents responsibility? Does this detailed nutritional education and physical activity let the parents off the hook, even though ideally, they are primarily responsible for the health of their children?
Questions and opinions abound on both sides! What do you think? Join our discussion!
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