Texas senator proposes :Should your child be graded on weight?

[lovuian]

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/redir.php?jid=ab335ebaf34af51a&cat=c08dd24cec417021


AUSTIN, Texas - Experts say more than a third of Texas schoolchildren are overweight or at risk for obesity. That figure alarms Leticia Van dePutte, a state senator from San Antonio, who is also a practicing pharmacist.

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" to see the number of 8- and 9-year-olds that are coming into the pharmacy to get the insulin, or 12-year-olds that take more blood pressure medicine than my grandmother," says Van dePutte.

So Van dePutte is proposing a state law requiring schools to weigh students, compute their body mass index, and send that information home on their report cards
more...

Oh this is going to give kids good self esteem puting it on their report cards!!!

[StephanieMarie]

1. What do you want to bet

the guy is a repuke. You know, the party who's all for individual responsibility and staying out of people's business...

[dflprincess]

16. Actually, it's a woman.

I saw her on the news tonight (CBS, I think) and didn't catch what party she belongs to. She's a pharmacist and is concerned about the increase in insulin orders she fills for kids. She says she has also seen 12 year olds on blood presure medication.

The irony of all this is, this woman could stand to lose a lot of weight herself.

I have several friends who struggle with their weight and I normally do not comment on a person's size, but I'm making an exception for this woman because of her proposed legislation.

[JDPriestly]

2. Judgmental to the extreme

We don't know enough about overweight or why some people are and others aren't. I have a friend in her 60s who can never eat enough. Most people in that age group can almost not eat too little. Why? Nobody knows yet. Until we do, it's unfair to publicly point out to a chiled that her or she is overweight. This should be done only in private. It's a matter between the parents, the doctor and the child -- not the school.

Just another cruel Republican scheme. No empathy, no compassion. Shall we start our own planet?

P.S. I'm not overweight. I just don't like cruelty.

[cdsilv]

4. Abso-damn-lutely NOT!

My youngest daughter is already handicapped by deafness and she is somewhat overweight. She also lives in Texas. I like the Texas solution to this gal - invite her over and then shoot her for trespassing! It's legal in Texas (shooting trespassers...).

[htuttle]

6. It's not about good or bad. It's about the Insurance Industry

Who the heck do you think pushes for all these sorts of keep-you-safe-from-yourself laws? The insurance industry is one of the richest, most powerful segments of the economy, and most of the time it flies underneath everyone's radar.

[David Zephyr]

22. Exactly, JDPriestly.

It is heartless and cruel. :thumbsup:

[coloradodem2005]

3. How fucking stupid can you be?

Why the hell are these people trying to create laws with respect to schools that are going to ruin kids completely? Fuckin' A. I hope he gets resoundingly defeated in his next election. Jesus Christ.

[AtLiberty]

5. Obviously this yahoo knows zilch...

...about the seeds of eating disorders.

[AliciaKeyedUp]

9. or other reasons people are overweight

Like thyroid disease.

[Erika]

7. She is not republican

A 30 second research would tell you that. She is a pharmacist.

I'm just waiting for taxes to be levied on potato chips, candy bars, etc.

[Terry_M]

13. Tax potato chips by % fat I say

;)

[genieroze]

25. They are in NJ.

[gristy]

8. who

12-year-olds who take more blood pressure medicine than my grandmother

State Senator, huh? Lady can't even talk. But that's just me...

[Sydnie]

10. Well, they could start by

removing the vending machines from the schools (and stop letting those that should speak for the kids about this POSE next to them in the school, private citizen or not!)-- fully fund PE classes (notice a lot of schools are not requiring it anymore) -- make the Presidential Physical Fitness Award something to work for again -- and address the school lunches that they serve. Remember, Ronnie let them consider ketchup a vegetable!

[Erika]

11. I remember because of budget cuts

reading an article that states only 6% of the schools now have daily PE classes.

[gristy]

12. yup

When I was in school, and it wasn't that long ago (I keep telling myself), there were NO vending machines, and there just wasn't any snacking. I didn't see it. I didn't even think about it. You ate at lunchtime. That was it.

[blonndee]

14. I agree, but it won't happen as long as vendors give incentives to schools

for allowing the machines to be placed on campus. Some schools even get "bonuses" based on the amount of product sold.

[LizMoonstar]

19. My only concern is that

schools taking time and funding for daily PE classes often means cuts for arts. I live in Illinois (where we do have daily PE requirements), and my brother's middle school had to remove its music programs from the daily schedule. If you wanted to be in band, you had to come in three hours early in the morning or stay 3 hours late in the afternoon, and there was no transportation available if your parents couldn't get you there at 5 am or come get you at 6 pm most days. This is ridiculous.

And considering that most PE classes serve as school-sponsored awkward moments of abuse for the nonathletic at the hands of the varsity players, I don't think simply increasing the current system is the answer. I always said, only half joking, that they should put in playgrounds and recess for all levels of public school, so that the kids can get their activity with others of their choosing and skill level, rather than be forced to have basketballs thrown at their face by the varsity team (one of my experiences) for example.

Something needs to be done, but simply forcing more PE classes into an already overstuffed, overstimulated school day isn't the answer.

[intheflow]

15. Bet this senator was a jock.

If she was clutz like I was in school, she'd never suggest such a horror. It was bad enough flunking PE without being graded on my weight!

[rumpel]

17. This is outrageous! My daughter always had a weight problem and

other children teased her all the time. They know they are overweight, the parents know it, too. She started making every excuse not to participate going to PE class, so she is not made to run, which even with a doctors letter was ignored by the teacher.
Eventually she started staying home on days she had PE, and now she is homeschooling.
They should rather teach not to isolate and discriminate against any child.
Have healthy food at the cafeteria to start with, encourage low impact excercise such as Yoga.

[Still_Loves_John]

23. Have you encouraged your daughter to exercise?

I'd like to say that I'm not trying to flame you or criticise you as a parent, since, especially on the internet, I have a tendency to come across as mean when I'm not meaning to.

But if your daughter's young, you can easily start instilling healthy eating and exercising habits in her. She'll have better self esteem and will be much healthier. You don't have to convince her that she's fat or not to eat or anything, and I understand that some people are just genetically healtiher, but even if she'll always have a little pooch exercise and healthy eating habits will keep her internally healthy.

[pityfriend]

18. Her heart sounds like it's actually in a decent place,

but the solution she comes up with is pretty terrible. How about better school lunches and phys ed classes where you actually excercise instead of play wiffleball 4 days a week.

[Still_Loves_John]

20. I really don't think this is a bad idea

From what I've heard about this, it's not just something saying "your kid is fat." It wouldn't be so much a grade, and it would only be used if a kid was overweight to an unhealthy degree. Being overweight, especially in childhood, can lead to very serious health problems, and lots of parents can't see that their own child is overweight and need a third party to tell them.

This would certainly be cruel if it was put on the regular report card, because you know that kids would find out what it meant even if it was coded, but if it was discreetly mailed to the parents, I can't see why it would be bad. You can argue that it would hurt the kid's feelings all you want, but you have to recognize that you have a problem before you can fix it, and it will ultimately make these kids' lives better if they get a chance to fix the problem in childhood, when its easiest to start healthy habits.

[rumpel]

24. Believe me parents know. When you go shopping for clothes and your child

does not fit into the age appropriate clothes it hurts, it tears your heart apart. Many parents do not have the means to get professional help when it's needed. It is not that they don't know. Fit's in right with Senator Kerry's health agenda.

[Still_Loves_John]

28. You know

But that doesn't mean all parents know. Especially when children are young, lots of parents either just don't see it or shrug it off as "baby" fat when its really a serious problem. I think if it was discreetly mailed to parents, even the children wouldn't have to know, and if the parents already know than it won't make a difference anyways.

And I'm not totally sure about professional help. Kids don't need a strict regimin, they just need to get out and run around; they're naturally energetic and will take to it immediately. Of course, if they're being made fun of for being overweight, they may have self esteem issues that keep them from partcipating in sports, but its not like they need organized sports to keep in shape. Just running around in a park or swimming everyday will get them in shape.

[Erika]

21. Just an observation

The few times I've visited the South, I've noticed the restaurants serve far larger portions than here in the West. Texas served the largest portions of any state. That TexMex is great!!!

Does the lifestyle of the region have an affect?

[genieroze]

26. She's a Democrat. eom

[rumpel]

27. It is still wrong.

[genieroze]

33. Never said it was right, but people here were assuming she was a

Republican so I looked it up and found she is a Dem.

[NoPasaran]

29. From her website

Senator Leticia Van de Putte, a pharmacist for more than 25 years, represents a large portion of San Antonio and Bexar County. A former-five term state representative, she is now serving her second term as a Texas State Senator for District 26. In 2002 she became the Chair of the Senate Hispanic Caucus and in 2003 she became the Chair of the Texas Senate Democratic Caucus. Nationally, Senator Van de Putte is the current President of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators and has been actively involved in the work of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) for several years. For NCSL, she has served on many committees, subcommittees, task forces, been a speaker at committee meetings and hearings, serving as moderator or panelist on a variety of topics and issues. She was Host Committee Co-Chair of the 2001 NCSL Annual Meeting in San Antonio; served as a member of the Executive Committee for three years, and was elected by her colleagues in 2004 at the Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City to the prestigious office of Vice President of NCSL.

Over the past two decades, Senator Van de Putte has been honored with numerous awards such as the NAMI Texas Legislative Champion Award, the United Way of San Antonio "Children's Championship Award", League of United Latin American Citizens' "Legislative Recognition Award", the Mexican American Unity Council "Albert Pena, Jr. Life Time Achievement Award", the American Lung Association "Public Policy Award", the Hispanic Journal Magazine "The Best of the 77th Legislature", the Texas Monthly Magazine "Session Player 77th Legislative Session", the Texas Pharmacy Association "Pharmacist of the Year", The American Legion Department of Texas 20th District Certificate of Appreciation, and numerous others. She is a strong advocate for children, health care, education, and economic development issues and has consistently authored and sponsored bills to assist families in securing opportunities. Senator Van de Putte has been a key author of bills that reformed our welfare system, revamped our Juvenile Code, and insured children. Multiple civic organizations and community groups have recognized Senator Van de Putte as one of the most effective, hardworking, sincere, and influential legislators in Texas.

Senator Van de Putte currently serves as Chair of the Veteran Affairs and Military Installations Committee, and also is a member of the Senate Committees on Education, Administration, Business and Commerce, Subcommittee on Higher Education, and the Joint Select Committee on Public School Finance.

The Senator was a Kellogg Fellow at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1993. She received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Texas at Austin, College of Pharmacy, and she is a 1973 graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School in San Antonio, Texas. Senator Van de Putte, born on December 6, 1954 currently lives in San Antonio with her husband of 27 years, Pete, and has six great children: Nichole, Vanessa, Henry, Gregory, Isabella, and Paul, three of whom are in college and one in medical school.

http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist26/dist26.htm

[mulethree]

30. BMI alone is pretty dumb, especially for kids

weight / (height squared) = measure of health?

Measure the shoulders or wrist or such and put some bone structure into the equation. Or some fat-fold pinch type body fat measurements.

And whether you use BMI alone or with more scientific data - certainly use age-specific measures. See the chart of BMI/age halfway down.

http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/bmi-for-age.htm

I prefer my old PE teachers method - if you can run two miles in 15 minutes, and do 50 pushups in a minute, and touch the flag at the top of the rope-climb - then you pass.

[Erika]

32. As iposted, only 6% of schools

now have daily P.E. Many schools have cut it out completely. The money isn't there.

[msongs]

31. yes weigh them like CATTLE and grade them prime, choice....

and all that sort of thing!

Moooooooooooooooooo :-)

Msongs
www.msongs.com/liberaltshirts.htm

[Moderator]

34. I'm locking this thread

Reason :

Misleading Subjectline