REFLECTION ZONE: Weighing In





I read "Weighing In" by Camille Jackson in the Spring 2012 issue of Teaching Tolerance.

This article stated that as childhood obesity grows, so does size bias.  According to this article, studies show that teachers tend to call on lean children over obese students.  It also stated that obese students are less likely to be accepted to college, despite having equivalent academic achievement.

Experts say that some children interpret the "War on Childhood Obesity" as a war on their bodies and on them.  While some schools care about the health of their students, they might be going about it the wrong way as they are focusing on weight.  Arkansas became the first state to record and send home students' body mass index results with report cards.  Other states then followed. Critics believe that there are other ways for schools to handle the issue such as:

•   helping parents learn how to design healthier meals
•   getting students to participate in afterschool activities
•   focusing on overall health of children, not just body size
•   helping students realize they are not in the healthy zone and they need to make  positive changes
• paying attention to behaviors, not numbers

I worry about the overall health of our students as phy ed time is getting shortened.  I heard that UW-Madison is eliminating the 1 credit phy ed courses!  I recently talked with a teacher who is planning to retire this year, and she said we just need to wait for the pendulum to swing back...it will come.  I hope the damage is not too high. What do your schools do to promote healthy choices?