Invasion of Privacy
"Whatever you can measure, you can improve," that's what Dr. Richard Daines, the state health commissioner of New York said in regards to measuring the body mass index of school children.
New York will now join 12 other states in testing 2nd, 4th, 7th, and 10th grade students at the beginning of the school year.
They plan to collect this data throughout the US to have a better idea of childhood obesity. Currently, it is estimated that 21% of 3rd graders are obese and a far greater percentage are overweight.
I personally have no problem with this data being collected confidentially and wish they had started making people aware of the severity of childhood obesity a decade ago.
Overweight children become overweight adults and the problems only continue to compound themselves. I really hope that along with the collection of data there is a plan in place to educate children and families about the value of healthy eating and daily exercise.
What do you think? Is this an invasion of privacy to be forced to have your child's BMI taken?
Source: Childhood Obesity News
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Posted by: Paola | Sep 24, 2008 10:14:20 AM
I think it is an invasion of privacy. As an adult, do you want somebody to go to your house and measure you and tell you you are overweight or obese? which you already know you are not skinny,or would you want someone to tell you there will be a fitness-fair two doors down the street and you are welcome to come and learn how to eat healthy etc. I personally would choose to go to the fair.
The data collection is just a number collection. It would just verify, indeed, the children are getting heavier. I don't think this data collection will help in any way. I think school need to re-introduce P.E. class everyday instead of once every 10 days, in this case, my child's school. Also, the children eat what is served to them in the home. If only macaroni and cheese and chips is all there is to eat then they have no other choice. Parents need to take responsability on this issue.
Why spend money on this data collection? Just implement something right now.
Paola
Posted by: Stephen Cabral | Sep 23, 2008 5:13:10 PM
Great comments, and I like how "Zedster" brought up the point about focusing on all kids... not just the ones who may be overweight.
Posted by: Ann | Sep 23, 2008 4:12:16 PM
It depends on how the information is handled and the age of the children.
I oppose body fat composition for middle school children, especially if the information is given just to the student. Information should be given to the parent if there is reason for alarm. If it is given to the students, more problems could arise, adolescence being a prime time for developing eating disorders. But a general screening for all students, especially in the early years could be helpful information for the parents. This is similar to the vision and hearing screening that elementary students have had for years. Of course it has to remain confidential.
Posted by: Zedster | Sep 23, 2008 3:21:31 PM
@Cindy:
"Why focus only on fat kids? Why does everyone think that the skinny kids are eating properly? I think many are just lucky that their bodies work differently or that they crave the healthier, lower calorie foods naturally. Teaching ALL KIDS healthy eating is a GOOD thing! Some skinny kids DO become FAT adults!"
This is exactly me. I've been make fun of for being skinny, been told to "eat more", but I'm in no way "fit" or even very healthy. I used to eat so poorly (tons of junk food, no exercise) when I was at my thinnest. I've been eating better the past few years and I've noticed I've put on weight. It's a shame that we equate health to fatness, when it's only one of MANY indicators of good health (lung capacity, BP, muscle, etc.)
And like Sherree said, numbers aren't going to do much. Spend that time and money educating kids about healthy lifestyles, not giving them another number to dread.
Posted by: dwtltl | Sep 23, 2008 7:42:31 AM
i don't think it is an invasion of privacy. These kids need our help. i agree with Lauretta. the parents are the one that are supposed to be the ones that teach the kids. most parents aren't doing that. we need some way to tell these kids that their overweight or what food is right!
Posted by: Judho | Sep 22, 2008 10:45:46 PM
Why not just leave the kids alone and not upset anyone about being too fat or too thin for that matter. This nation and the world for that matter are too obsessed with body image. If you are talking health then have a healthy eating class at school and teach the children how to eat healthier rather than wasting all this money on measuring them or weighing them etc.
Once they have this information, what are they going to do with it? Present it to their parents and wind up making the parents angry as well?
Too much food and not enough exercise is obviously the problem so why not figure out how to get the children more active by taking this study money and creating an after school exercise program for those kids that want to lose the weight and stop all this confidential nonsense and all the secrecy and all the butting into other peoples lives. Haven't we lost enough rights and civil liberties for these busy bodies that can't seem to understand that the more you fight something the worse it gets.
Leave the kids alone. Yes, some will turn into fat adults and some will not. Just like always, there is always someone that wants to stir the pot, no pun intended, and create a problem where there most likely isnt one.
Posted by: Robert Martin-Hill II | Sep 22, 2008 8:54:01 PM
Except for now as I put on a few with hypothyroidism, I have always weighed as heavy because I am stocky, and biked so I had big legs. Our family doctor always ignored the chart and looked at me, so it was not a problem.
I doubt the people doing this in nyc are going to be bright enough to be able to asses the kids correctly.
I live across from a school in nyc and they are nightmares.
Mass testing is fine for general views but almost always a mistake for individuals.
And the NYC school system is worse than you can imagine. I also have friends who teach here, the stories about principals, never mind the kids and their parents.
OR the bottom of the barrel cops they use as security. And in nyc that barrel is very deep.
PE at the school across the street seems to involve lots of yelling and screaming and little excercise.
Posted by: Elizabeth P | Sep 22, 2008 6:40:21 PM
There's no need to spend money getting these statistics. They are collected at physical's for children across the country in every Doctor's office already and it's how we know there's a problem. Those existing statistics can be easily divided with postal codes into areas. I have to agree with many posters above,....PUT THE MONEY INTO TEACHING NUTRITION AND HEALTHY LIFESTYLES. Teach the benefits and cons of eating healthy vs. eating unhealthy. Kids take this in if it's started at a young age. Then, possibly our overweight children will be healthy children and just those predisposed to weight gain with slow metabolisms or a ponderance to be book worms. Unhealthy eating and sedentary lifestyles are the problem, not the number on the scale. Maybe start with 5 days a week of PE being put back in school from Kindegarten to Grade 12. That alone would be a better use of funds and go alot farther to creating active healthy children.
Posted by: shaylee | Sep 22, 2008 6:39:53 PM
This is not only an incredible invasion of privacy but an assault on our constitutional rights. The government has no place in forcing kids or parents to comply with such a program. This is more "nanny state" nonsense - the government can fix all that ails us. What do the authorities intend to do with this information? Could it ultimately be used to remove a "fat" kid from their home or send them to "fat camp"? How many people could be labeled "unfit parents?" Beware when the government collects info on you - demand to know how it is to be used.
It is one thing to offer such help to those who seek it - we already educate kids on health, physical fitness and nutrition, we already have taken out the Coke and snack machines (at least in my district). We already offer nutritious reduced and free breakfast and lunch for those who qualify. In a free society these are all proper steps and we have to accept the fact that some people may not choose to comply.
We can't keep handing over our rights and responsibilities to the state or we won't have any left. We all know sad situations where parents should just never have become parents. I feel for these kids but I work in the public school system and I see that there are many avenues for these kids to help them. Some may slip through the cracks but we can't keep legislating our way out of every tragic situation.
I am appalled at how easily people in the U.S. today give up their right to privacy and their right to make their own decisions only to give the government carte blanche to intrude in so many aspects of private life. Maybe it's my 60's and 70's upbringing but I see all this as very Orwellian. Pretty soon, our society is going to look like the Sylvester Stallone movie "Demolition Man". In that movie anything that was unhealthy was outlawed and even your language and thoughts were observed and controlled by the government.
Not everything is pleasant or desireable but we all have to learn to deal before we have no freedom or free will left to us. I speak as the mother of four children - all of whom are athletes and in great shape - but nobody has a right to weigh, measure or test them without my consent!
Posted by: Nadine | Sep 22, 2008 6:37:48 PM
I was a chunky child and being weighed in a line and having everyone know was very humiliating even at age 6. I have fought obesity all my life and still dread going to the Dr. office and being weighed. I am in my 60's and my self esteem is rather good, but I still have memories that are painful.
As a teacher, I believe there is too much negative competition placed on children, especially girls about their weight and appearance. I think we try to make rules(laws) about everything and unless this data has a healthy plan to make changes in the lives of children, I see no reason to collect it.
What is the plan for the collection of this data? Are there plans to collect other health data that may help explain the causes of obesity?
Are they looking at family history, health history, social issues, how much exercise, economic issues, etc. that may indeed affect obesity. Some of these other things will have a more far-reaching effect than collecting childrens' weight.
Personally, I would object to this data collection for myself, my children (who are not obese) and grandchildren. We have enough stress to deal with.
Posted by: elizabeth | Sep 22, 2008 3:04:15 PM
I think confidentiality is a huge issue..and unfortunately, children have a way of telling and asking and speculating.
Speaking as someone who has spent most of her life plagued with body image and food issues (i have been a "borderline" anorexic since I was 19)I still remember with horror being weighed in 3rd grade and having everyone find out how heavy I was.
The issue of overweight in children is critical, but I am not sure this is the approach. Food and weight issues need to be addressed at HOME.
Posted by: Cindy | Sep 22, 2008 2:23:26 PM
I agree with Sherree. Why gather data when we know our nation is FAT. I grew up fat - and this was in the 60s when there were not that many fat kids! I had two brothers - both obese and both of my parents were obese. Both of my brothers are deceased. I feel the obesity resulted in their dying at young ages. Bottom line is:
1. I did not like being picked out of the crowd as being heavier than everyone else. I KNEW I was heavier. So I say NO to weighing everyone! You can tell who is fat and this person may be willing to accept some one-on-one help from the school - just offer help and get the kid's permission as part of the weight loss program to be weighed.
2. Why focus only on fat kids? Why does everyone think that the skinny kids are eating properly? I think many are just lucky that their bodies work differently or that they crave the healthier, lower calorie foods naturally. Teaching ALL KIDS healthy eating is a GOOD thing! Some skinny kids DO become FAT adults!
2. Teaching nutrition in school helps but the parents have to be taught this too! The parents are the ones who shop and bring the food home! The parents need to be made aware and taught good nutrition. I feel this is hard for the kid to do on his own (i.e. to teach his/her parents proper nutrition)!
3.
Posted by: Elizabeth | Sep 22, 2008 2:13:09 PM
NO, NO, NO this is not helpful. Society is so obsessed with numbers and giving them unhealthy importance!!!!
Let's just give our people (young and old) a better perspective about a healthy lifestyle. We are "scored" in so many other ways!
Posted by: Sherree | Sep 22, 2008 1:16:55 PM
It depends on HOW the data is collected and used as to whether it is an invasion of privacy. My grandson is considered obese according to the charts; at 4" 10" he weighs 127 with his football pads and uniform. He should weigh 125 to be able to play with out limitations, so he is working diligently toward that goal. At the beginning of the season he weighed 132 and could not play until he got under the 130 mark and then his play was limited. Even in this kind of context it is difficult for the children to be weighed in public and for other people to know what they weigh. How do the educators plan to weigh the children? Will they line them up so that all of their classmates can see? As adults how would we feel about that? Weight is a very sensitive issue. What do the educators plan to do with the data once they have collected it? We already know that childhood overweight and obesity are a huge concern. Do we really need more time and money spent on more data collection? I would say NO!!! What we need are time and money spent on providing some answers and solutions, not to tell us the exact extent of the problem in a certain area. Does it really matter if it is 25% or 27% or if it is 30% or 33% and how that breaks down into percentages of overweight versus obesity? We already know our kids have a problem! Now we need to focus on how to correct it. Perhaps if the data were to be used to stratify solutions to target certain populations that would be a meaningful use of more data. But for my money and time, I think it is better spent working towards a solution and you can gather data WHILE you are working toward that solution. The children WANT a solution. They do not want to be FAT, nobody wants to be FAT!!! I have struggled with weight for my entire life. I was a fat child until I was 5, then I lost the weight and was slim through my teens and into my twenties. I gained weight during childbirth and then subsequently lost it, through a lot of hard work. Then gradually in my late 30's and early 40's I regained a lot of weight. Six years ago I lost 70 pounds and have kept it off within a 5 to 10 pound fluctuation, until a recent surgery immobilized me for a while and I put on 20 pounds that I am currently struggling to take back off. My point in this is that I am familiar with the struggle. I is one I know well. Yet I do not have all the answers as to how to help my grandson, who is in the 98% for his height and weight. My daughter is searching for ansewers to help her son too. But the truth is, it is a family dynamic. How to you deal with only one child who is overweight and three who are not? How do you get a child to live with restrictions that the parent (s) are not willing to?
It would be wonderful if the educators put together voluntary programs with weight loss coaches for the children and parents. They need to have dieticians and fitness experts, as well as mental health professionals. Weight is only a sympton, it is not the disease. We should all know that you can not treat symptoms and expect a cure, you need to treat the disease. Unfortunately, we do not understand the disease. so we continually try to treat only the symptoms. Even when we manage to get ahead of the symptoms, the problem returns in other ways. Take a look at what is happening with the bariatric surgery patients, they cure the weight problem and do not resolve the underlying disease (the reason that they gained the weight in the first place) and what they have found is that they are replacing one addition (a food addiction) with another addiction (i.e. gambling, shopping, sex, alcohol).
So I guess my opinion is, that the educators could do a lot more with the information that they have already. If they really need the data to design programs (I don't think that they do) they could collect it in the form of a mandatory yearly physical (paid for by the school district if the children are indigent or do not have health coverage that pays for it) that way the children and parents still retain their privacy. But if the intention is not to start implementing programs to benefit the families immediately, do not gather more data for data's sake. There is a problem, use the resources available to attempt to fix it.
Sherree
Posted by: michael | Sep 22, 2008 12:27:11 PM
Any test, inoculation, etc. which are mandatory become an invasion of privacy. I do not trust 'confidential' record keeping.
Michael
Posted by: Lauretta | Sep 22, 2008 12:26:16 PM
Most parents teach their children to look both ways before crossing the road, not to touch a hot stove and not to talk to strangers.
For some reason, they are not taking the responsibility of helping their children form healthy eating habits. This is learned behavior that will keep them from having debilitating illnesses and could even save their lives.
It looks as though an influence from outside of the family is their only hope!
Posted by: Emily | Sep 22, 2008 12:11:32 PM
I believe that taking this measurement for statistics sake is okay, but focusing on the BMI of individual kids is not a good idea.
If a class, grade, or whole school has an alarmingly high BMI, then a prevention campaign should be implemented. And maybe if a child is morbidly obese, the school nurse should get involved -- however, accusing someone of being overweight can sometimes come off as a threat to their parents, themselves, or an insult. This is not constructive, when in many cases the source of obesity is emotional or behavior issues.
Posted by: Morgan | Sep 22, 2008 12:04:50 PM
As someone who is going into the field of childhood obesity, I think that measuring and monitoring children in schools is a great thing. If parents at home are not taking the initiative to help their children be healthy, then someone must. Granted I do think that the measuring process should be done in private and that the information be held confidential to all except those that need to see it (ex: parents, health care professionals). I also believe that measuring once every few years is not invasive whatsoever.
Posted by: Lisa | Sep 11, 2008 11:13:23 AM
I am glad to hear about this news.
If the data is confidential, I don't see it as an invasion of privacy. I'm healthy now, but I was an overweight kid growing up...and I sure wish someone would have presented my parents with my BMI. How can you fix a problem if you're unaware of it?
Then again, BMI is not always a reliable indicator of fitness. At the same time, I doubt there are too many 13-year-old bodybuilders who will be incorrectly deemed "overweight".
