Texas Lawmaker Unveils Child Obesity Bill

I think they should take those resources and spend them on extended recess, after school playgroups and better city planning. Really, what do they hope to accomplish? Are there any obese kids who don't know they are fat? This is just a symptom of a much larger public health problem and an inappropriate distraction for schools.

oh god...

"Hey, in case you were blind, your kids FAT!"

Nice.

I agree.
Did youknow that the funding for Physical Education in texas schools has dropped 30%? knocking out PE class wich is usually the only physical thing kids do in school anymore , to once a week only ...in some schools.. in others it is non existant.
I have heard that PE has been dropped or suffered a HUGE decrease in funding in many other places too.
They money that is being spent on this ' testing' and ulitmaly revamping the report cards can go to other things. Singling the kids out and hoping that shame will MAKE them eat diffrent and loose the weight is awful. These children learn from thier parents the eating habits they have. And these children do not have the ability to buy thier own foods , nor the ability to make the right choices when thier houses are loaded with sugary foods.
Hell... why not point out the fat parents?
THEY have the ability to make the choice
THEY HAVE the money to buy foods
THEY are the ones feeding these children
Put them in the spotlight.

I agree shewolf. Kids need exercise. If they spend at least 8 hours a day in, getting to, or coming home from school, and there is no PE, when are they supposed to exercise? It's true that we are a junk food nation but face it, if kids get exercise they 1) don't crave as much junk and 2) can burn off sugary snacks. I'm just so peeved at the gall. We cut funding for physical education, but we'll spend money on a program whose sole purpose is to point out to you that your kid isn't healthy. Clearly, the cause of childhood obesity is not due to a lack of information. BTW, I believe that the reduced funding for PE is a nation wide trend, as well as the elimination of recess for the younger ones.

of course, this information will be available to the insurance companies so they can raise rates on "obesity health risk" individuals and families, and then they in turn can tithe more to the lawmakers and politicians who support their bullshit money making schemes and the sheep will continue to be shorn because they line up for it and allow it....

I just don't see how they can even claim an interest here. Children are required to have yearly medical exams while in school, are they not? Here anyway, your doctor has to fill out 'school forms' every year. What a friggin' waste of time duplicating the effort.

follow the money and the profit incentive....

Yeah, I know, I know. I was trying not to be so cynical, but well, what else could it be? Has the program proven helpful in Arizona? I don't think so. Does it make sense that the proposed program will curb childhood obesity? Not really. That pretty much leaves us with your explanation.

Try this on for size (and supersize it): Some local schools are cutting recess entirely to spend more time in the classroom. All in the name of No Child Left Behind.

Got to bring up those test scores!

like I said...follow the money....

Is it just barely possible that Texas lawmakers have too much time on their hands?

BINGO roger.
Lets see how THEY pass this fat test.



I am still in favor of making the parents the spotlight of the night when it comes to obese children. Like i said, it isnt the children who are buying Froot Loops, its the parents.
THEN the parents have the gall to point at thier kids and say " you are fat".
ug.

Wow, another person who thinks only Government can solve all your problems.


I can understand having a goal to improve health, however including it on the report card is WRONG.

Great. Now the shootings in schools will be over candy bars, not crack cocaine.

"Your Child is Fat."

NO ****.

I hate all the bullshit politics of education. Educators should educate the children. Reading, writing, math, etc. Educators should not determine whether or not children are fat. That's what doctors are for.

If the schools wanted to do something useful they could provide edible cafeteria food so kids wouldn't have to eat potato chips for lunch, and more interesting exercise programs.

My thoughts exactly.
All the money they are going to put into this change in the reports that come from school should be placed into more veggies at lunch, less soda machines, and returned to the PE program.
But.. law makers dont SEE it that way. They think it is a personal fault.
Well.. what is a child supposed to do about nutrition if all the people who provide for them ( parents, school lunch etc..) provide nothing but ****?!

A school-sponsored, anti-obesity program that is working:

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/111-01052005-427034.html


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
School district posts success in obesity fight
Bucks County Courier Times


EMMAUS (AP) ?- Despite some early mistakes that drew criticism and national attention, a school district effort to fight childhood obesity has shown promising results in its first few years, the district said.

The East Penn School District in Emmaus said its campaign, which includes confidential letters to parents, healthier vending machine fare and walking clubs, helped achieve an 18 percent drop in the number of overweight students and a 50 percent drop in the number of underweight students in the past school year.

While the results are not part of a scientific study, the trend appears promising given rising rates of youth obesity in Pennsylvania and nationally, officials said.

"They are way ahead of the state and national curve in doing this," said Patricia Montalbano, a school health consultant for the state Health Department.

The district, with more than 7,000 students, found that 796 students were classified as overweight in the 2003-2004 school year, down from 976 a year earlier. The number of underweight students dropped to 245 from 490 in 2002-03, the district said.

The program was introduced in the 2001-2002 school year.

"I'm very, very proud of what we did. Without question it was worth it," said George Ziolkowski, director of pupil personnel services, who had to defend the program on national cable news shows after some parents complained that the letters embarrassed their children.

Responding to the criticism, the district refined the program after the first year, when the letters went out without prior explanation and only to the parents of 700 or 800 targeted children.



"We did a very, very poor job of educating the public. We just sent out the letters. We hit a nerve," Ziolkowski said.

About half of those parents requested the information offered on fitness and nutrition, but the other half were upset that their children were being singled out.

The district now sends out letters to all parents informing them of their child's body mass index, a common measuring tool. That approach is used by at least one Florida district.

Meanwhile, district schools eliminated soda, sugary drinks, unhealthy snacks ?- and even whole milk ?- from its vending machines.

School leaders also highlighted obesity issues in the health curriculum for all grades, hired two more health and wellness teachers in the elementary school and started walking clubs for elementary students.

"They've made very positive changes," said Lisa Lechmanik of Emmaus, a parent who complained about the first-year letters on MSNBC and "The O'Reilly Factor" on Fox News.

State law requires schools to weigh and measure students each year. East Penn officials said they started the program because they were tired of simply putting the data in a drawer and not acting on the problems they saw. Childhood obesity can threaten a child's physical and emotional health.

Lechmanik is not the only one whose concerns have been quieted.

"I don't know if we've had one complaint this year. Now people ask us to come out and talk about the program," Ziolkowski said.

I'm okay with teachers discussing the problem with parents, or sending them a concerned letter with ideas.

What I'm not okay with is a stamp of weight on a report card. It is different than grades, and putting it in that location sends the wrong message.

I don't like schools that eliminate vending machines, because they don't provide good alternatives. Most kids would rather skip lunch than eat cafeteria food (if adults won't eat it, why do they expect kids to eat it?). I would rather kids eat junk for lunch than nothing at all.

My high school used chicken puss to help hold together the chicken nuggets (I'm not lying about the qulity of cafeteria food here.) And, I am not lying here, it is a very good school. There is just little to no care taken in cafeterias because there is no competition. They don't have to make an effort, adults don't even eat there. Actually the cafeteria in Jester on my college campus had the same problem. No competition, forced payment of meals, and the nastiest food in the nation (voted so.)

Our exercise programs were good at that school, with dance classes and a variety of sports. However, in middle school, gym class was running around the gym in circles.

Another good idea is to encuorage teacher sponsorship of after-school clubs. There are lots of physical things: Lawg, sports, dance, etc. that kids love to do with their friends after class, but need organization.