Arkansas Rethinks Child Obesity Reports
Arkansas — the first state to send home obesity report cards to warn parents of overweight kids' health risks — may ditch the plan or weaken it with the help of the new governor.
Gov. Mike Beebe said the school weigh-ins and report cards had "a lot of negative, unintended consequences" and hurt some children's self-esteem. He favors letting parents drop out of the program more easily and wants the state to test children less often.
His predecessor, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, said reversing the state's trendsetting, 3-year-old effort, "would be a huge step backwards."
It's worth noting that Beebe, a Democrat, has no weight problem. Huckabee, a Republican, used to weigh 280 pounds, and before he began campaigning for president he campaigned against the ills of obesity.
Since Arkansas adopted its school-based anti-obesity program, California, Florida and Pennsylvania have launched similar efforts. And public health officials in Arkansas point to a slight drop in the state's childhood obesity rate since the program got going.
But some lawmakers say that telling parents their children weigh too much could hurt children's self-esteem. Some also question whether it's the role of schools to monitor students' weight or if it even makes a difference.
Supporters of the current program, like Dr. Karen Young at Arkansas Children's Hospital, say fat children have self-esteem problems regardless.
"The kids who are overweight are already being teased," said Young, who directs a pediatric fitness clinic. "These poor children, they're suffering. It doesn't take the letter for them to suffer."
Young has gained a number of new young patients trying to lose weight since schools began requiring the BMI reports.
Arkansas' program began in 2004 after the Legislature directed public schools to weigh and measure children, calculating their body-mass index (BMI), a number used to determine whether their weight is appropriate for their age.
Huckabee championed the program as he dropped 110 pounds after being diagnosed with diabetes. Beebe, who took office Jan. 9, wants Arkansas to test children less often and make it easier to let parents opt out.
"There are a lot of things schools should be doing, but there are a lot of things parents should be doing and one of them is trying to make sure their kids stay healthy," Beebe said.
The Arkansas House last week approved a bill that would repeal the BMI report cards altogether, horrifying health experts who see the program as a wake-up call for families.
"It's spurring some major action on the part of parents," Young said. "Some of them really don't know their child is overweight until they get the letter."
Danita Thomas of Hope said she didn't need a report from school to know her teenage son Irie was too heavy. But since getting that first BMI report two years ago, Irie has lost nearly 100 pounds and sworn off junk food and sugary sodas — once staples of his unhealthy diet.
"It was helpful, but I already knew it," Danita Thomas said. "It made me realize that we needed to do some things different."
The 17-year-old now regularly goes to Young's clinic to help him with his weight loss.
Rep. Keven Anderson, R-Rogers, who filed the proposal to eliminate the BMI test altogether, said he didn't believe the BMI reports were effective tools.
"At some point, the parent has got to take some responsibility for the health of their children," Anderson said. "I don't think sending a report home saying you're in or out of the range is going to make a difference."
However, doctors from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences have told lawmakers that the BMI reports and other steps, such as limits on vending machine use, were leading to healthier students.
Last year, a study showed that the percentage of Arkansas children who were overweight or at risk of becoming overweight was 37.5 percent, down from 38.1 percent in 2004. University figures from a later study showed that 68 percent of parents and 85 percent of students said they were comfortable with the reports.
That survey also found that the percentage of students reporting being teased because of their weight was 6 percent, half what it was two years earlier.
Young said that 13 percent of the children who come to her fitness clinic do so after getting the obesity report cards from school.
Jim Raczynski, dean of UAMS, opposes weakening the law, saying 20 percent of students already are opting out of the weigh-in program.
"No one's forcing children to stand on the scales, no one's holding them down and I can't imagine any school forcing students or their parents to undergo the BMI assessments if they aren't willing to do it," Raczynski said.
© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Gov. Mike Beebe said the school weigh-ins and report cards had "a lot of negative, unintended consequences" and hurt some children's self-esteem. He favors letting parents drop out of the program more easily and wants the state to test children less often.
His predecessor, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, said reversing the state's trendsetting, 3-year-old effort, "would be a huge step backwards."
It's worth noting that Beebe, a Democrat, has no weight problem. Huckabee, a Republican, used to weigh 280 pounds, and before he began campaigning for president he campaigned against the ills of obesity.
Since Arkansas adopted its school-based anti-obesity program, California, Florida and Pennsylvania have launched similar efforts. And public health officials in Arkansas point to a slight drop in the state's childhood obesity rate since the program got going.
But some lawmakers say that telling parents their children weigh too much could hurt children's self-esteem. Some also question whether it's the role of schools to monitor students' weight or if it even makes a difference.
Supporters of the current program, like Dr. Karen Young at Arkansas Children's Hospital, say fat children have self-esteem problems regardless.
"The kids who are overweight are already being teased," said Young, who directs a pediatric fitness clinic. "These poor children, they're suffering. It doesn't take the letter for them to suffer."
Young has gained a number of new young patients trying to lose weight since schools began requiring the BMI reports.
Arkansas' program began in 2004 after the Legislature directed public schools to weigh and measure children, calculating their body-mass index (BMI), a number used to determine whether their weight is appropriate for their age.
Huckabee championed the program as he dropped 110 pounds after being diagnosed with diabetes. Beebe, who took office Jan. 9, wants Arkansas to test children less often and make it easier to let parents opt out.
"There are a lot of things schools should be doing, but there are a lot of things parents should be doing and one of them is trying to make sure their kids stay healthy," Beebe said.
The Arkansas House last week approved a bill that would repeal the BMI report cards altogether, horrifying health experts who see the program as a wake-up call for families.
"It's spurring some major action on the part of parents," Young said. "Some of them really don't know their child is overweight until they get the letter."
Danita Thomas of Hope said she didn't need a report from school to know her teenage son Irie was too heavy. But since getting that first BMI report two years ago, Irie has lost nearly 100 pounds and sworn off junk food and sugary sodas — once staples of his unhealthy diet.
"It was helpful, but I already knew it," Danita Thomas said. "It made me realize that we needed to do some things different."
The 17-year-old now regularly goes to Young's clinic to help him with his weight loss.
Rep. Keven Anderson, R-Rogers, who filed the proposal to eliminate the BMI test altogether, said he didn't believe the BMI reports were effective tools.
"At some point, the parent has got to take some responsibility for the health of their children," Anderson said. "I don't think sending a report home saying you're in or out of the range is going to make a difference."
However, doctors from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences have told lawmakers that the BMI reports and other steps, such as limits on vending machine use, were leading to healthier students.
Last year, a study showed that the percentage of Arkansas children who were overweight or at risk of becoming overweight was 37.5 percent, down from 38.1 percent in 2004. University figures from a later study showed that 68 percent of parents and 85 percent of students said they were comfortable with the reports.
That survey also found that the percentage of students reporting being teased because of their weight was 6 percent, half what it was two years earlier.
Young said that 13 percent of the children who come to her fitness clinic do so after getting the obesity report cards from school.
Jim Raczynski, dean of UAMS, opposes weakening the law, saying 20 percent of students already are opting out of the weigh-in program.
"No one's forcing children to stand on the scales, no one's holding them down and I can't imagine any school forcing students or their parents to undergo the BMI assessments if they aren't willing to do it," Raczynski said.
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The validity of the BMI as a predictor of future health problems is currently being questioned by research.
These things really do a number on the self-esteem of children. Just because they are children, do they have to unwillingly give up their privacy?
In the interest of expedience, they line all the kids up in the gym. The coaches, or if available, a school nurse takes the weight and height measurements and then calls that information out to whoever is filling out the forms.
Some of the students are further humiliated by the coaches or nurses stating that their hairstyles are just so outlandish it prevents them from taking a good reading. In their opinion, not only is your child a fat slob, but your child also has a bad hairdo.
All you adults who are all for this: Let's line you all up in the conference room at work and take your height and weight measurements. Those taking the measurements will yell out your weight and height measurements to the person writing this information on the forms.
Would you want your height and weight to be public information for your co-workers' consumption?
If they are truly worried about the health of children, they could take the money thrown away on this project and offer better food in the cafeteria.
They could get rid of the junk food and soda machines.
And they could bring back genuine gym class. Get the kids outside and moving around.
Thank you!
There used to be more "recess" time too. Now that's being cut back.
Parents are very responsible for their kids diet. If they're going to have kids they need to make more of an effort that the kids are eating better food. Even "junk" food doesn't always have to be "bad"...some "junk" is better than others. Pushing the kids outside on a nice day is another benefit and MANY parents (myself included) could stand to lose a few pounds by just taking a family walk.