Without parental involvement, it sounds like an idea that will cause more trouble than it is worth.
Teaching kids about diet sounds like a good idea to me though.
Unless the teacher is by some very strange coincidence a trained expert in child/adolescent weight issues (and from your description of the program it sounds like he's not), I think this is extremely dangerous. Dangerous enough that if it was my daughter, I'd consider moving her to another class -- or if necessary another school.
12 years old is an extremely fragile time for children. It's an age where they could easily be pushed or guided onto devastating paths.
I would send the letter to the school board and your child's doctor.
I'm not saying that this will happen to your daughter. But, my youngest sister was diagnosed with anorexia in 1974 when she was 12.
I probably sound hysterical, and I'm sorry about that.
Posted by katiebird at May 3, 2008 11:30 AMWhile I don't think it is the governments role to tell us how much we should weigh or what we should eat, schools should teach kids the benefits of a healthy diet and the consequences of a poor diet.
I'm not sure the teacher is out of line. Kids need to be instructed on the consequences of their eating habits.
Most of the chronic diseases we face (heart disease, type 2 diabetes, etc.) have their root from a poor diet. If Americans didn't eat animal products and processed foods, and stuck to a low-fat diet high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, we'd all be thin and diabetes would nearly be eradicated.
Of course, I do realize serving kids salad and veggie soup isn't easy.
Ask me how I lost 60 lbs in 4 months a few years back! (I just sort of gave a huge hint, though.)
Link. And click on the forum link to join the conversation of people making their healthy conversions (and recipes).
Posted by Muck at May 3, 2008 11:34 AMJeff,
Your post and letter bring up some interesting points that I'd like to try to address. But first off, let me tell you that I have no kids myself, so take what I say with that grain of salt. I am, however, about to graduate with a Doctorate in Physical Therapy, and have a Master's in Exercise Physiology as well as a background in personal training and wellness instruction. That does not in any way qualify me to discuss nutrition with a label like "expert", but I do have a little knowledge on the subject especially combined with exercise.
I can certainly understand your concern, especially in lieu of our society's push towards a thin-model image. And though I think the pressures are a bit more on girls, a similar pressure is apparently seeping down into adolescent boys now of an ideal body image.
But I would like to also address the flip side of that argument and examine a very real problem of child overweight and obesity. The dramatic rise in child obesity is now considered an epidemic, and very likely leads to adult obesity and further complications throughout life:
http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/yourchild/obesity.htm
In my limited experience as a health care worker, I've seen so many of these complications that obesity creates both in the inpatient and outpatient setting. A few things I've seen that are attributed to obesity include: heart disease, stroke, athersclerosis, high blood pressure, GI complications, diabetes, pulmonary problems, psychological issues, low back pain, lumbar disc protrusions, early knee and hip replacements, radiculopathy, intermittent claudication, just to name a few off the top of my head. And you can imagine for a moment just how much this adds up in our health care field and insurance costs. Of course I'm no proponent or defender of health insurance, not by a long shot, but I will defend the fact that so many of our health care costs can be directly or indirectly attributed to obesity.
And the difficult part of it all is the fact that this trend is being passed down to kids now as we see the percentage of obesity continually rising for children as well. This has to be addressed in some way, and unfortunately it's not just parents who hold the burden of responsibility of addressing it.
So I will say that I agree with your daughter's PE teacher in principle, but that their tactics could have very likely been a bit different. I also agree with MarkL that the parents should have been more involved, even at the expense of embarrassment to them, because as stated previously we are talking about an epidemic here. Good nutrition and habitual exercise have to be stressed to all age groups now, but perhaps the tactics in doing so for children should be a bit different than with adults.
Posted by MisterOpus1 at May 3, 2008 12:03 PMI think that your tone and the fact that you brought up this site are somewhat out of line given what you know about the program.. unless you know more than you've included. Remember that this information is coming through your child. The actual assignment may not be exactly what you think it is; kids have a way of magnifying importance of some things while downplaying others. IMO, you should have first contacted the teacher to express your concerns about the program. And certainly you should not have said anything about this site or used it in such an intimidating matter.. at least until after you had discussed the program with the teacher or principal!
Posted by matthew at May 3, 2008 01:14 PMApparently, fairly common, and you're not the only one concerned about it.
Posted by julia at May 3, 2008 01:15 PMOh yeah, and going over "Mrs. (Physical Education teacher's)"'s head and right to the VP was completely uncalled for.
Posted by matthew at May 3, 2008 01:15 PMIMHO measuring calories and body fat is NOT the way to teach children about healthy foods and how to eat a balanced diet.
Reduce calories and (all other things being equal) one will lose weight. Howsever, matching one's 'magic' weight goal does not equate to health.
It's more likely that eating all the chemical concoctions being sold as food is contributing to our society's health problems (and extreme weight problems). Since selling chemical substitutes for real food is profitable it's very unlikely that any school program would take that part of the problem on. It's much easier to concentrate of the fact that people get fat (as well as unhealthy) from their chemical diet. But while reducing calories will lower weight it will not solve the health problems.
Posted by gail at May 3, 2008 02:15 PM"If an "ideal" weight or percentage of body fat is taught to 12-year-old children in school, it should concentrate on the absurdities of what our culture expects girls to look like and the often deadly diseases that can easily begin to affect young women who become obsessed with squeezing into the latest fashions and looking "good" exposing their midriffs or wearing that two-piece bathing suit at the pool."
The "ideal look" is pressured on people by the forces of the fashion markets and can be countered by parental involvement. I am afraid that the program that your daughter's school has undertaken is more in-line with "nanny statism" dictating what the nanny-staters have determined to be is in the best interests of your daughter (regardless of the thoughts of the parents).
May I ask: has your daughter's school banned Coke and candy vending machines? Has the administration begun to monitor what the kids bring from home to eat for lunch? Are parents not allowed to send their kids to school with cakes and cup-cakes as special treats for the other children?
Be careful. If this is not now the case, it will soon be the case.
Posted by Bagley at May 3, 2008 02:21 PMOne of the point I'm trying to make, which I don't think came across in my previous comment, is that the fat 'problem' is another symptom, like diabetes, of the very poor US diet. There is a correlation between fat and diabetes but that does not mean that fat causes diabetes.
Posted by Gail at May 3, 2008 02:23 PMFirst off, I too agree with matthew here, there should have been (unless there was and you failed to indicate it in this post) a conversation with the PE teacher who assigned this instead of just the letter complaint to the princicple or vice principle...then if you failed to get your concerns addressed in that discussion.... I think you should have told said PE teacher that you were going to then discuss your concerns with the principle and even invite the PE teacher along... just out of common courtesy and the whole chain of command thing. Did you at least include the PE teacher in on receiving the letter? (put yourself in the PE teacher's shoes, would you the PE teacher have preferred to hear it directly from the parent or from your boss first?)
Secondly, my own kids have had similar activities some done through health course, others as a part of PE class (5th grade and all grades through middle school) but they being boys and being slim, physically active, and not big snackers or eaters at all...well put it this way, it was a project that was not a huge discussion amongst them or their peers...they just did it and filled and handed it in. I personally think that there is some merit to the program, as I echo and have seen firsthand in my own profession (healthcare/ education) many of those very concerns that MisterOpus talks about in his post. That said, I understand your different perspective and concern though.
Lastly, I believe that this type of information, is part of a national educational initiative and perhaps even mandate (I think the BMI thing is a part of it but not certain if it's a national or just state-you may want to research that), that is being put upon school districts to work on this very issue. I think districts are given some flexibility as to how they decide to implement it. For instance, I know in one school district here in MA, the parents of a certain grade level are sent home height, weight, and BMI letters with the attatched indices for what it means for every student by the school nurse.
Anyway good luck and keep us informed as to how you make out and what you find.
Down boy, down. First your letter says this little class project in nutrition is aimed at both boys and girls. You sound a little overprotective of your daughter. Second, these kids are entering a phase of life that will produce profound physical, hormonal and emotional changes in them.
I am very impressed by the teacher's outstanding effectiveness in getting these children involved and concerned about living a healthy life style.
Nutrition is only part of a good PE program. Physical fitness, strength, endurance and posture are other elements. My guess is that the teacher is also encouraging and teaching the kids about these as well. And, undoubtedly they are learning the rudiments of volleyball, soccer and other physical activities.
If your daughter and her friends are hanging posters of bean-pole ballerinas or 6'2" skeletal Italian models on the walls of their room then you probably should be concerned that the teacher is off the reservation.
Hopefully your letter's dramatic leap to "the absurdities of what our culture expects girls to look like" "obsessed" and 'bulimia" have nothing to do with what the teacher is saying.
Please recognize that there are common medical standards for healthy weight, height and body fat relationships. It is important, especially at the 12-year-old level, that children know those standards.
It is equally as important, perhaps even more so, that children learn that ridiculing or making fun of those who do not fit those standards is unacceptable. From your letter it appears that the kids will be getting a "twofer". One is proper nutrition as they enter puberty and second is a good lesson on relating to and respecting other people.
And, for the record, my two daughters are healthy, happy, normal weight adults in their mid thirties.
Please encourage this teacher. She sounds like a real keeper. Balance and when necessary correct your kids misunderstandings with your own teaching. And above all please try to avoid hysterical allegations like those exhibited in this letter.
Posted by john lerch at May 3, 2008 02:40 PMI appreciate all of your comments, thank you.
FYI, the project was assigned Monday and I wrote the letter yesterday to the VP. My daughter brought the entire instructions home with her so my wife and I had plenty of time to review it in detail. During the week concern over the program had increased among local parents, and the PE teacher was unresponsive, even hostile and defensive in one incident I heard about. Now that could be just a rumor, I wasn't there and abhor hyperbolic gossip, though I know her as a rather difficult person to discuss school-related issues with.
I sent the letter to the VP because she and the (out-going) Principal are the ones who approve all lesson plans.
The only reason I mentioned this site was to let the school know I would be trying to find out how prevalent this type of study is around the country, not to threaten anyone. The most effective route to raising a ruckus in this community is always through the local newspaper, and I haven't written a letter to the editor since I haven't even had a give-and-take with the school yet. I'm more than willing to discuss this matter with anyone involved, and I'd be happy to keep you all informed at how this all shakes out.
Not that it matters, but my daughter is a very healthy girl who gets plenty of exercise. My concern is for the kids who don't fit her profile suffering undue harassment, which has already begun.
I whole-heartedly agree good nutrition and eating habits are important, but imo there has to be a better way to teach this than the, indeed Bagley, nanny state labeling these very young children "overweight" in front of their peers.
There are no soda or candy vending machines in our school.
Thank you all so much for your great input!
Posted by Jeff Dinelli at May 3, 2008 03:58 PMFind out of they are doing BMI. It's only valid across large populations of people and not very reliable when used against one person.
For example, my younger daughter comes well under her BMI, but she's perfectly fit. I'm not worried, she's petite, fine-boned and doesn't have much fat on her because she's very active, but, despite being active (and surprisingly strong) doesn't bulk up. This child I push to eat, but no matter how much she eats, she just doesn't get fat. Which was like me and my brother when we were kids. Super active, out-door kids who were muscle, bone and no fat thus "too skinny."
Yet one of my friends youngest son's is "too fat" according to BMI. Like my daughter, he's very, very active and fit. However, he's big-boned and heavily muscled. I have few doubts that he's going to be a very large, muscular man when he grows up. Yet, if you went by BMI...
Anyway, for shit like that, DARE and some other stupid crap we pulled our daughter out of public school (the other has graduated) and are homeschooling. Something I heartily recommend to anyone who cares about their children's education.
Posted by Moses at May 3, 2008 04:57 PMJeff, I am surprised that there was so much "opposition" to your letter.
I am the mother of a 12-year-old boy and would be just as pissed if this "assignement" was given in his class. The assignment is bullshit.
As I understand your statement, the final straw was in the calorie counting panic that she went through....
for people who do not know, calorie counting panics and obsessions are the hallmark of eating disorders and teaching such obsessive behavior to our 12 year olds is crap.
There is a whole lot of BS pushed on our kids - especially at this age of changing hormones and such - the last thing that they need is caloring counting obsessiveness and freaking out about BMI.
Teaching a kid balance in healthy eating and activity is one thing - computerized programs asking them to count calories and compare their own body to an other imposed standard is dangerous.
I would not even wait to write the local newspapers.
I have a neighbor who is a dietician who specializes in eating disorders (and diabetes and ADD & nutrition) and she would be furious about such a lesson plan (she also has a daughter my son's age.) From numerous conversations with her on this exact topic this is exactly what an educator (or parent) should not do.
The danger in this assignment is so enormous and unfortunately the ignorance to this danger is widespread.
I am proud of how you handled this Jeff and I doubly applaud you because you are a man - yes, sexist statement - get over it. Often men are not as aware of the danger of this type of indoctrination as women are. Only because women typically have more histories of eating disorders and are a little more sensitive to it. I hope that you take this as the compliment that it is meant to be.
I wonder if there is a dietician involved in this lesson plan? Is there an eating disorders therapist involved in this assignment? My guess is that it is only an over-reaching PE teacher who has her own issues with body image and calorie counting and being a control freak; all symptoms of eating disorders.
This really pisses me off. Apologies if my anger is flying off of the screen, but this is really, really bad.
At 12 years old girls are just starting to identify themselves as women and what that means...they do not need to have Body Mass Index be part of that equation.
Again, huge kudos for taking action and I hope that your daughter knows how much that you are behind her and looking out for her.
Jeff, personally I agree with your concerns 100%. I think girls 10-12 years old are incredibly susceptible to body image. Eating disorders are not taken seriously enough IMO and are often misunderstood and largely go undetected and undiscussed. Nutrition and exercise and healthy lifestyle habits absolutely should be discussed with children but not anything that makes them more body conscious than they need to be. The "ideal" bodies these days are skeletal and that's not what we want to our children to emulate. The focus should be on the garbage in food but transfats, high fructose corn syrup, etc. and on sedentary behaviors like TV watching and computer games -- not their own weight, height, BMI, etc.
I would've reacted the same exact way...
I agree with you completely Jeff. Children should be taught about good nutrition and good eating habits, but "ideal" weight or percentage of body fat being taught to 12-year-old children is very dangerous.
Girls at 12 and boys at 14 are entering one of the most important phases of their lives, puberty. The last thing they need during this period of their lives is some school teacher or some chart telling them to worry about body image or body fat.
Part of the problem is that children are allowed to sit at a computer seven days a week, without any physical activity. They are allowed to eat junk food, and drink ungodly amount of soda. Gone are the days when children played outside and a parent had to beg them to come in at night. In other words, part of the obesity problem in children begins in the home.
Posted by Judith at May 4, 2008 01:22 AMI recently did a two-week volunteer project in Portugal with Global Volunteers. My responsibilities included teaching conversational English to 7th through 12th graders. One of the topics we were asked to discuss with the students was "eating disorders." We (my volunteer partner and I) brought many aspects of the problem into our discussions: the media, our friends whose daughters have body image issues (several have been hospitalized for anorexia or bulimia), how it impacts boys in our culture (growth hormones, body-building, etc.) Even adults are not immune. I have friends who go to doctors who specialize in weight loss. Those doctors are nothing but pill-pushers who are handing out diet pills to their patients.
Something I learned from these discussions is that our problems are not unique to the United States. The Portuguese people are experiencing the same kinds of things we are: two-working-parent or single-parent families, after-school activities that made home cooked meals difficult, fast food restaurants on every corner.
The point I'm trying to make is that we are in crisis in every part of our lives. I wouldn't blame the teacher for trying to address something that she's probably been assigned to teach, but I do think she could have handled it a little differently.
Posted by Susan S at May 4, 2008 06:48 AMI wish there were more parents in the world like you. Your daughter is a lucky girl to have a Dad who "gets it".
Posted by Bri at May 4, 2008 07:57 AMThis is an absolutely ridiculous assignment. A lesson plan focused on healthy eating and exercise would be fine, but linking that directly to weight is ridiculous. And getting kids to count calories is ridiculous, too. If the teacher wants to make kids aware of what they're eating in a direct way, she could have them keep track of how much packaged food they eat compared to food from fresh ingredients, for example -- or have them come up (as a class) with a "typical" menu and count the calories in that food. But this assignment will only encourage competitiveness and unhealthy behavior.
Posted by Andrea at May 4, 2008 08:01 AMYou are absolutely right. Thank you.
Posted by corinne at May 4, 2008 08:03 AMMy son is 15 and a Freshman in High School. His is in the same position. He has to have 20% body fat by May 29th or he will have to take 3 years of PE in High School instead of 2. His body fat is currently at 28% and he has lost 26 pounds in the last 3 months. The problem is that if he has to take 3 years of PE he loses an elective. He wants to go to and arts college and needs to take as many art classes as possible in order to be accepted. If he has to take an extra year of PE, he won't be able to take the art class. He has practically starved himself the past couple of months and the weight is dropping off but his body fat is not going down as quickly. I worry about what he is doing to his body during these growing years and no matter how I beg, he just won't eat.
Posted by 4 The Kids at May 4, 2008 08:20 AMIf PE is so important (and it is!) then it should be required all four years of high school. The school system is obviously sending kids mixed messages.
Posted by Susan S at May 4, 2008 08:28 AMMy sons have never encountered an assignment like this, and we live in Maryland (they are 16 and 16 now).
You could teach the same assignment by showing the food pyramid, and just asking the kids to track what they eat on the pyramid. That way your daughter could have put down 1 grain, 1 dairy, 3 fat etc. for the pizza without freaking out about the specifics.
My eating issues started when I was around 12, when puberty turned me from a tall skinny kid to a medium height fat kid.
FWIW, I continued to eat the same way throughout that year. However, as I absorbed all the diet talk and body hatred around me the effect wasn't to square my shoulders and say, "Right, got to eat less now." The effect was to get depressed that I was getting fat, and drown my sorrow in junk food. I wish people would understand that about kids, that embarrassment and humiliation really isn't a good motivator but love of self is.
Posted by Eva Whitley at May 4, 2008 09:50 AMI would rather have this program than have my kids grow up fat. It's worth keeping in mind that being fat has very real consequences, a shorter life span, and perhaps more important a life full of health problems. I appreciate that this guy is trying to help his kids, but we have dumbed down our schools too much. We protect our kids so much that they school doesn't prepare them for real life.
Posted by WMass at May 4, 2008 10:17 AMI had to do a similar project for my Physical Education class (required, of course) in college. I was pretty pissed since learning to NOT count calories is an important part of recovering from an eating disorder. I thought this project was irresponsible, and I think your child's gym teacher should go die in a fire.
Posted by batgirl at May 4, 2008 10:48 AMPerhaps I should've added this to my last comment:
I also had to do the calorie-counting project as a freshman in high school. However, much of the food diary was invented, as on the days I didn't starve myself, I threw up everything I ate. I figured that "Rice Krispies: 25 servings, but possibly digested 2 or 3" would raise some red flags.
Posted by batgirl at May 4, 2008 10:57 AMMy mother (a nurse) would have flipped if I had come home with this. I'm 23. She always taught me that it wasn't about what size I was, how much I weighed or how many calories I ate--healthy is the ability to do things. If I get out of breath going up the stairs, thats bad. When I hit puberty I started to get that 'be thin' message (I was taller then most of my friends by about 3-6 inches, and proportionately larger). My mom beat me over the head with the idea that in order to grow taller, I would have to gain weight. I needed that body weight so that I could become an adult. When they're in puberty, kids bodies do weird things. Yes, there is an issue with unhealthy kids in the US--both over and undereating. This exercise just teaches them to undereat.
My school had a nutrition program. We were taught to eat vegetables and not candy. We were taught the pyramid. We were taught to go get exercise. In college, we were had a similar program, except we tracked other nutrients, like fiber and vitamins. Do you know how many students aren't getting fiber?
Posted by laura at May 4, 2008 11:23 AMBravo for opposing this unscientific and hatred promoting class activity. There are several problems.
60 years of research show that fat people do not eat differently than thin people. Which makes sense since weight is as heritable as height (about .88) and tall people do not eat differently than short people either. Adoption studies show no correlation between adoptive parents' weight and adopted children's weight, and high correlation with biological parents' weight. What's more, obesity rates have not risen since 2000-2001.
All of the "obesity related" illnesses are experienced by thin people too. "Overweight" people on the BMI have the lowest mortality, lower than "ideal/normal" weight. There is a U shaped curve of mortality with underweight people at as much risk as overweight people at extremes, yet you never hear about the epidemic of underweight or the higher prevalence of disease in the underweight or "underweight related" diseases costing society too much.
Beyond that, these school interventions have never been proven to affect weight, probably because fatness is a phenotypal variation and not a disease.
As miserable as school was for fat kids when I was growing up, it was mostly only the other kids humiliating and shaming them, with most teachers neither helping nor hurting (except PE teachers who hated the fat kids so much that they acted younger than us kids). Now all teachers are required to do so to meet curriculum requirements.
Go to junkfoodscience.com (not my site) for more information on the lack of scientific support for an "obesity epidemic" and review of many failed programs just like the one your daughter's gym teacher is running,
Good for you for standing up for your daughter and her classmates and trying to nip eating disorders in the bud.
Posted by Mary at May 4, 2008 12:13 PMIn fourth grade, we did Go for the Gold at the Y. It was a physical fitness thing-- you run as many laps as you can, you do as many situps as you can, you get gold, silver, or bronze accordingly.
I got a bronze on the skin-fold test.
I was, at that time and for years after, underweight enough that people around me were concerned. And the test told me I was fat. Mom was pissed, but it was a one-day field trip.
Posted by Diatryma at May 4, 2008 12:23 PM"I would rather have this program than have my kids grow up fat."
That presumes that the program would have any way of preventing your kids from "growing up fat." And I suspect the opposite is more likely--teaching a twelve-year-old to count the calories of every single morsel she consumes is setting her up for a lifetime of unhealthy habits of thinking about food and her body. Maybe that nonsense will create a thin teen, but it won't end in a happy or healthy person.
Posted by Penny at May 4, 2008 12:40 PMGo for it!
23 years ago (I am now 31) we were given a talk at school about keeping our teeth healthy. There was the usual tooth-in-a-glass-of-coke experiment. There was a personal chart with a bright-toothed crocodile on it. There were boxes to fill in. I had (and have, and I know full well that genetics has a large part to play here) very healthy teeth.
I knew I could not measure up to the crocodile chart. I knew that I did not brush my teeth for three minutes twice a day (a good thing - I'd have taken my gums off. I asked my dentist last year if I should get an electric toothbrush. "I normally think they're a very good thing," he said, "but pointless for someone who brushes her teeth like you."). Instead of being inspired to brush my teeth and eat fewer sweets (I ate them only once a week anyway, for tooth reasons), I hid the chart, was consumed with guilt, hardly brushed my teeth, and panicked that my teeth were going to rot and fall out.
Fortunately for me, it was only a fortnight's programme, and my mother found me and the chart and wrote a "My daughter will not be participating letter" and I went back to scrubbing my teeth with vigorous enthusiasm.
Moral: children need to brush their teeth/eat vegetables/engage in physical activity. It is also incredibly easy to destroy their self-image and actively turn them off these activities through misguided educational programmes. Do the coke-in-a-glass experiment. Explain how vitamins work. Take the children trampolining. But stop the school bullying/frightening/threatening children into 'healthy' lifestyles that do more harm than good. Good for you.
/end rant.
Posted by Nineveh at May 4, 2008 02:57 PMThank you for writing that, Jeff, and for bringing it to the school administration's attention. Anyone who is upset that it went to the administration -- who do you think wanted the curriculum to begin with? Working in that position, I'd want to the administration to have to consider the impact of their programs. Teachers don't have a lot of autonomy in what they teach.
My school had a similar program. I also came from a family and peer group that was, uh, particularly focused on "caloric nutritional standards". There were situations where, for instance, I cried for a month because at the annual weigh in third grade, I was now the _second_ lightest girl in the grade, rather than the lightest. Yeah, I'm just a bit crazy. ;)
There's such a thing as teaching good nutrition, but there are so many other factors that need to be accounted for (peer, media, etc). Why not teach, oh, let's say cooking, rather than just calorie counting? You don't have to have highly processed foods with calories on the side of the box in order to know what you're eating.
Childhood obesity (and obesity down the road) is something that I think education, public or private (i.e. parents), can help. But cutting down on anorexia and other disorders is also connected to how you approach eating habits, and eating disorders are also deserving of attention. My school system's approaches to the issue had directly fed the worries of my peer group like any of the women's magazines we got our hands on, and they didn't teach anything that we didn't already know. It doesn't matter if you have one program that says, "anorexia is bad, boys and girls", if there's another program that says "calories make you fat. The way to good health is fewer calories. The fewer the calories, the thinner and happier you'll be, just like it says in the magazines next to the newest diet craze!"
Who wants to tell me that anorexia isn't also a drain on health and the health care system, although it is not as expensive as obesity? Are you going to sacrifice one population's health for another, or are you going to try to come at it from an accessible approach for all involved?
Posted by Kate at May 4, 2008 03:18 PMhere from Alas.
To people supporting the BMI: It has been shown by British research to be fatally flawed - it makes no allowance for muscle mass, and makes no allowance for body type (ectomorph vs. endomorph, for example). One reason for an obesity "epidemic" is that the bar keeps moving, and never in a non-skinny person's favor.
Using it on children seems ridiculous to me - BMI makes a ratio between weight and height, and children at that age are (maybe) starting their puberty growth spurts. Some people don't get their full height until COLLEGE.
And finally, FAT =/ UNHEALTHY, absolutely, end-stop. There are people with a higher than "ideal" body fat level who are physically active that can walk, jog, or run circles around a naturally thin, sedentary person.
Yes, Jeff is focused on his daughter, because women bear the brunt of the figure/fat conformity nonsense. Boys get it too, but not to the same degree and not to the same level of harm. Anyone who says otherwise has obviously never struggled with their weight and with body image in general.
Jeff, I'd show your daughter something like the Evolution film on the Dove site (http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/dsef07/t5.aspx?id=7373&filmno=1), the one that shows how manipulated our images of "beauty" are. I agree with many critics that the Dove campaign is STILL not inclusive enough as far as showing "real" women, but it's a start. Might spark some good discussions.
Posted by Lyonside at May 4, 2008 04:08 PMI'm amazed that anyone could accuse you of being "too overprotective of your daughter." For crying out loud, it's part of being a good parent to be protective of your children! It's very hard for 12-year-olds to recognize eating disorders or other long-term threats to their well-being. They're very vulnerable to media hype and other manipulation. They don't have the adult perspective that recognizes a distinction between BMI, body image and health. They aren't equipped to recognize lies about "low calorie" or "low fat" being exactly the same as "nutritious."
I'm glad you wrote that letter, Jeff. I hope the school responds positively, and changes the curriculum to something more sensible.
Posted by Adrian at May 4, 2008 10:15 PMThis is the same attitude (found in our school district) that bans kids from bringing cupcakes for the class on their birthday or cookies to the MLK day party. OMG, they have SUGAR! EEK! By that logic, strawberries and every other fruit should be banned as well.
Somewhere, we got to teach our kids the 'all things in moderation' maxim, and let's include sweets in there as well.
Posted by Liz at May 5, 2008 05:41 AMGood for you, Jeff.
Posted by Katie at May 5, 2008 06:45 AMokay, i don't have a lot to add, except that i think you did the right thing. what i wanted to say, mostly, was that, at the ripe old age of 29, i feel myself becoming that "old" person who says "in my day, it wasn't like this!". but it's true. my mother was a middle school teacher for almost 30 years, and i watched, even in the years just post mid-school for me, as her job got harder because of stupid regulations and parents that didn't want to parent. but even thinking about these kinds of things...we had PE EVERY DAY for at least an hour all the way through 8th grade, and then it dropped to a 5 semester requirement in high school. in elementary, we only had pizza offered once or twice a month, and we sure as hell didn't have funnel cakes (referencing the LJ post left by julia). we did the president's physical fitness test each year, and yah, there were some embarrassed kids who couldn't pass. but honestly, i think there was ONE kid in my entire year that didn't pass in 5th grade. even the kids who looked overweight could run around and keep up pretty well. we didn't need to track our calories, because we were KIDS!
anyways, this is mostly a rant, but thanks for putting this forward. it's good, if frightening, to know what i'll face when i have my own kids. good luck with this.
Posted by InfamousQBert at May 5, 2008 07:45 AMI don't think your letter is threatening, and if you've prior experience of this particular teacher being non cooperative, I can see why you've headed straight for the principal. I think counting calories and using BMI is a ludicrous approach for 12 year old children - yes, if individuals have an issue it needs to be approached with them and their families, but I don't think a whole class project is the way forward.
I have a friend who does ironman events, where you run, bike and swim over long distances. She's extremely fit and very experienced with nutrition as she's also also a qualified vegetarian cook. Despite all of this, her bmi rates her as obese as it can't take into account her muscle mass. That can't make any sense at all.
At 12, nutrition education was limited to the food pyramid, vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and other "health" related dietary info. Not body fat or weight.
However, my high school health class required us to measure our body fat with one of those body fat scales AND a skin fold test, and those whose percentage was over the range for normal had to run extra laps.
It was horrible. And that number still looms in my head.
Posted by Kacie at May 5, 2008 07:54 PM"Your post and letter bring up some interesting points that I'd like to try to address. But first off, let me tell you that I have no kids myself, so take what I say with that grain of salt. I am, however, about to graduate with a Doctorate in Physical Therapy, and have a Master's in Exercise Physiology as well as a background in personal training and wellness instruction. That does not in any way qualify me to discuss nutrition with a label like "expert", but I do have a little knowledge on the subject especially combined with exercise." - MisterOpus
I think what he's really saying is, "I have a background in being trained to tell people what weight they should be despite any real qualifications. Based on my research over the internet, I feel you're not seeing the real issues of child Obesity, also known as children not being taught how to starve themselves.
You don't see all the risks your putting your child in for from not teaching them how to starve themselves. You are putting them at risk for, good self-esteem, not dressing like a little harlot, (not that being thin automatically means a woman will dress like they're easy)realizing that they matter more than what a man tells them they SHOULD look like, and finally you're putting them at risk of living a long and happy life when by virtue of being female, they should know their place is to suffer."
I'm sorry if you feel I'm twisting your statements MisterOpus, but you obviously cannot see this is really what is behind your claims of child obesity. Teaching children to hate themselves isn't healthy. There are things more important in life than obsessing over having perfect health. Teaching 12 year olds to develop eating disordered behaviours, like worrying about calories. That's not healthy, that's manipulative. Teaching a future generation how to harm themselves. That's what people like you are doing.
Posted by Jackie at May 6, 2008 12:46 AMGail, correlation is a fancy term for guessing or cherry-picking results to create a result that we fancy. It has absolutely zero to do with facts.
Posted by Jackie at May 6, 2008 12:49 AM"I think that your tone and the fact that you brought up this site are somewhat out of line given what you know about the program.. unless you know more than you've included. Remember that this information is coming through your child. The actual assignment may not be exactly what you think it is; kids have a way of magnifying importance of some things while downplaying others. IMO, you should have first contacted the teacher to express your concerns about the program. And certainly you should not have said anything about this site or used it in such an intimidating matter.. at least until after you had discussed the program with the teacher or principal!" - Matthew
Right, Matthew. He should've waited until his daughter showed signs of a full blown eating disorder, then have complained to the school.
Posted by at May 6, 2008 12:50 AM"I think that your tone and the fact that you brought up this site are somewhat out of line given what you know about the program.. unless you know more than you've included. Remember that this information is coming through your child. The actual assignment may not be exactly what you think it is; kids have a way of magnifying importance of some things while downplaying others. IMO, you should have first contacted the teacher to express your concerns about the program. And certainly you should not have said anything about this site or used it in such an intimidating matter.. at least until after you had discussed the program with the teacher or principal!" - Matthew
Right, Matthew. He should've waited until his daughter showed signs of a full blown eating disorder, then have complained to the school.
Posted by Jackie at May 6, 2008 12:52 AM"Down boy, down. First your letter says this little class project in nutrition is aimed at both boys and girls. You sound a little overprotective of your daughter." - John Lerch
You should be commending Jeff. There are far more parents out there who are underprotective of their children. The claim of parents being overprotective sounds more to me like other parents saying, "Hey what do you think you're doing raising the standards. Now we have to actually get off our rears and be parents!"
Posted by Jackie at May 6, 2008 12:55 AM"I would rather have this program than have my kids grow up fat."
I couldn't exactly find who Penny was quoting. However I've decided to translate the quote into what I think they're really saying:
"Having my child meet society's standards for what they belive is an appropriate weight, as well as what researchers paid to spur on the obesity hysteria say my child should weigh. Is far more important to me than the happiness of my child."
On that note, I want to share with you a quote from an episode of Shin-Chan I saw the other day that was rather amusing on this subject:
There are two dogs getting married..
"girl dog, may you cook and clean as often as Whitey wants you to, and never ever get fat. Whitey, good boy!"
Whitey is the name of the boy dog, cause his fur is white. Lest anyone suggest this has racial undertones, cause it doesn't..the other dog was white too. It's more of an issue of sexism, just thought I'd nip that notion in the bud.
Posted by Jackie at May 6, 2008 01:02 AMJeff, I was horrified to read this, as the mother of a daughter who was diagnosed with an eating disorder at the age of 13. The age you're talking about is JUST the age where even the most innocuous messages have long-term impact. Healthy eating and exercise can surely be taught in a more positive manner.
Since you have indicated that you live in the far southwest suburbs of Chicago, RUN, do not walk, to the eating disorders clinic at Linden Oaks Hospital in Naperville (affiliated with Edward Hospital). Get one of their professional staff's opinion of this program. They can be very powerful allies for you and hopefully knock some sense into your school. Good luck to you.
Posted by Sharon at May 6, 2008 06:15 AMJeff, I thank you for this.
As a middle-schooler, I was bigger than a lot of girls my age; both taller and more broad-shouldered; it resulted in years of teasing and bullying not only from other students but from so-called "well-meaning" gym and health teachers. There's nothing worse than adults using their positions of power to bully and demean already fragile children.
Thankfully, with the support and love of my parents, I overcame the negativity. I'm a happily married adult woman now- still tall and curvy, happy with myself, strong. The love and protection of a parent is worth more than all the treasure in the world.
Plus: calories as the basis for all health ? It's ridiculous. Maybe if they had a program talking about vitamins and minerals and fiber, and taught the kids healthy recipes and talked about the food pyramid; then maybe, maybe I can see it. But just counting calories and giving kids yet another excuse to compare themselves to others is plain wrong. It's stupid body-shaming fat-hatred all over.
Posted by Lisa at May 6, 2008 08:30 AMJeff, your daughter is lucky to have such a concerned and aware parent. Good for you for writing this letter. Kids, especially pubescent teens, don't need fear-mongering when it comes to food. They need positive messages. You know, "exercise is good", "vegetables and fruits are good". That sort of thing. Not "don't eat too many calories or you're going to be chunky by the time prom happens and no one will want to be your date!" Ugh. Again, thank you for writing that letter.
Posted by Kristal at May 6, 2008 09:56 AM(Delayed reaction, found your blog while link-surfing from Jezebel)
While I hear and acknowledge the folks who said you might have done better not to go over the teacher's head, etc... Thank you, thank you, thank you for stepping up to defend your daughter's right to have a healthy body image and food comfort level.
I was something of a pudgy kid in elementary school, and my mother (due to her own personal issues) never took me aside and said that it didn't matter what all the jerks at school said as long as I ate healthy and stayed active.
I also think you're absolutely right that it's possible to teach nutrition and exercise regimens without focusing on weight or the resulting shape. For the record, I think that's true for both boys and girls.
Recently I spoke to my employer about the prevalence of food-related personal comments going on around my office. Our obsession with health goes hand in hand with our obsession with image -- thanks for trying to readjust the focus so it isn't likely to lead directly to an eating disorder or food anxieties!
She never would have done for me what you did,