Things that make me turn off the radio

[tim]

Overheard during a Think Out Loud discussion of health care reform: some guy (a guest, not a caller!) suggesting that [schools?] should
'notify parents of their children's height, weight and body mass index, so that they can be empowered and take charge'

Can you name all the reasons why this is a horrible idea?

Comments

[talia_et_alia]

...surely they mean doctor's offices, not school?

I think the reasons may be innumerable, but off the top of my head: if parents require extra information to be empowered and take charge wrt their kids, that's a tip-off that maybe this isn't one of their responsibilities; family discourse around weight and body issues is based in reality ~5% of the time, from what I can tell; assuming your relationship with your child is not already horribly broken and dysfunctional, you can acquire their height and weight on your own, and BMI is a worthless scale anyway; any semi-automated transfer of information between schools and parents is typically open to interception and abuse; children are growing and changing by definition, so flailing about momentary non-ideal states is almost certainly less useful than teaching general health/medical/activity skills, so *they're* empowered to take care of themselves in whatever way seems best as adults...

I would poke at the notion that a child's height is something that might need parental regulation, except that there totally are people feeding their kids growth hormones for non-pathological shortness. Also doing that awful Gattaca leg-lengthening thing.

[tim]

Nope, they really meant schools (as in, examinations that would take place in school nurse's offices -- I guess? I don't really know how this stuff works).

family discourse around weight and body issues is based in reality ~5% of the time, from what I can tell

Bingo! Well, everything you said. But especially this.

Plus, can you imagine what the threat of your abusive parent finding out that you're OMGZ TOO FAT could induce some kids to do?

man, this is why I don't write to LJ anymore

[talia_et_alia]

Oh, and the meta-issue that lack of information about individual bodies is not causing whatever height-weight-proportionalism (or, probably, lack thereof) that our commentator is perceiving. Tell media and its consuming public to go fuck themselves with a Photoshop disc, get the government to subsidize food rather than products (and war), and let's talk about how this country prefers to starve its poor as a matter of policy, first.

Maybe

[wkfauna.livejournal.com]

http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2008/03/school-childhood-obesity-and-bmi.html

Re: Maybe

[tim]

Hell yeah, that seems to cover most of it (admittedly I skimmed the article). If anyone figures out how to convince people to reason based on evidence, could they let me know, so I can shift my career to doing that?

Re: Maybe

[wkfauna.livejournal.com]

Who needs evidence when they've got COMMON SENSE? It's just like in the movies when the ugly people are always the bad guys: if current aesthetics declare you unattractive, clearly you must have a tremendously shortened life span AND be morally deficient somehow.

Re: Maybe

[tim]

if current aesthetics declare you unattractive, clearly you must have a tremendously shortened life span AND be morally deficient somehow.

Well, this is why weight loss surgery is so great. By losing a hundred pounds you can suddenly gain back all your moral character! Who needs church or therapy?

Re: Maybe

[wkfauna.livejournal.com]

Yes, clearly moral character is proportional to how much self-control and effort you exert in your life. After weight loss surgery you must eat very small portions of foods that will not immediately pass undigested through your system. All that self-control and effort gives you +1000 moral points!

Re: Maybe

[tim]

If you sign up now you can get one hundred (100) extra virgins once you get to heaven.

Re: Maybe

[wkfauna.livejournal.com]

I think the supply of virgins is fixed and everybody has to share. Which... yeah.

[ewx]

"Your child's height has changed." "Um, yes, that's what they do, isn't it?"

[naath]

Firstly it's vile that people want to make this "the parents' problem" rather than "the child's problem"; unlike some things of immediate urgency and great complexity I think most children of school age can cope with normal (unfortunately probably not actually normal at all), sensible advice such as "vegetables are good for you" and "playing outside is healthy". Parents need to BACK OFF and acknowledge that children are people, and should be able to be in charge of their own bodies.

Secondly I think it's a huge breach of the child's trust to have the child's health-care providers "report" to the parents' without the child's consent. Obviously there are times when this is necessary (such as if the child as a serious illness), but I do not think that this is one of those times. Doctor-patient confidentiality anyone?

Thirdly if parents want this info can't they measure the child themselves and stick the numbers into google for the BMI? Bathroom scales and a tape measure are not all that expensive surely.

Fourthly why are schools to measure these things at all? Schools are not doctors, probably they would give very bad health advice unless strictly directed to gives specific good advice; since so much bad advice is floating around.

[tim]

Oh, but don't you know? Schools are not doctors, but they are a great instrument for social control.

WTF?

[verazea]

Schools being concerned and so recommending I see a diatician.

Who, months later, decided there was nothing wrong with me and that I was just thin. They had me drink crap designed to make me gain weight after conceeding my diet was normal and I ate enough. When this didn't work they suggested steriods. Fortunetly my parents were unimpressed by the sugestion and refused. Finally, they decided that my dad was thin and I must just take after him. Whatwhat? Months of appointments and horrible drinks for that? Yeah, thanks. I don't want to know the effects steroids or anything else might have had on me.

None of this is to mention the bad advice that would be peddled and that BMI is meaningless.