In early childhood, kids might receive marks for satisfactory or unsatisfactory behavior. In secondary school, they begin to receive grades A through F. In college, you can pass or fail a class. All of these educational performance symbols culminate in a GPA. But what about a report card that also brings home a BMI?
Arkansas, Massachusetts and New York are among the states listed that are effectively beginning to measures students’ Body Mass Index. In light of new studies chronicling the nation’s rampant child obesity and first lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign that targets the issue, schools are contemplating how to take a more active role in shaping children’s health. In most states, physical education is already a mandatory part of any public school curriculum. Seniors often have to pass a health class before they can graduate high school. And advocates continue to seek ways to modify school lunch menus to make them more enticing, healthy and cost-effective for youths. But is it wise for schools to also being weighing and measuring kids and informing them about these statistics? Will young adults benefit from having this information and learning what it means to take responsibility for their weight? Or will it simply provide fodder for the fragile self-esteem issues they already face in these formative years?
To best serve and inform our members, Pivotal Fitness Greenville likes to stay on top of national health and fitness news. And we’d love to hear what you think about these issues. Creating a dialogue and forming a health-invested community is one of the reasons we enjoy being a local, neighborhood gym in Greenville.
So tell us: What would you think about BMIs on report cards in South Carolina?
Actually, SC schools do not have BMI on the report card, but for many years, SC schools have been publishing BMI on students’ fitness reports that are sent home.