New York Ramping Up Fitness for School Kids

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

06 Sep 2008 07:55 PM

School administrators in New York want to promote a "culture of fitness" among students, but the new program they have in place to do so is raising some eyebrows.

Last year state lawmakers passed legislation (which went into effect this month) requiring public schools outside of New York City to collect and report a summary of students' weights and body mass indexes (BMIs) as part of an effort to combat childhood obesity.

According to the state health commissioner: "Whatever you can measure, you can improve and by requiring the measurement of body mass index, I think we'll see some improvement."

Of course, not all parents see it that way. More on that later.

First, for those of you who are not familiar with BMI, the number is based upon a person's weight and height. In the case of the New York students, BMIs will be obtained from annual school physicals which are required for attendance. Using the information each school will then create a set of data that will allow state health officials to evaluate obesity levels based on geography. School officials maintain that the students' health information will be confidential and collected exclusively from second, fourth, seventh and tenth graders.

The goal of the program is to be able to track where childhood obesity is a problem so that district leaders can offer parents and children resources to help them lose weight and lead healthier lives. School administrators say they also plan to devote more time to educating kids about the importance of daily exercise and are imploring parents to participate in regular physical activities with their children instead of allowing them to live sedentary lives.

Sounds noble, right? Unfortunately, some parents are balking about the new program arguing that their child's health information shouldn't be placed in the hands of school and state officials. Which begs the question: Is childhood obesity a government problem or a family matter?

Before you answer that question consider that a 2004 health survey of New York third-graders found that 21% were obese. What's more, as of December 2007, 12 states had some version of student BMI reporting: Arkansas, Texas, California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

Do you live in a state when student BMIs are reported?

Related Articles:

Kids and Fitness---One Sport or Many?

How to Get Your Kids in Shape

Another Reason to Get Running

Why Too Much Exercise is a Bad Thing

Can you Exercise Too Much?

New Exercise Program for Kids

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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