Do Parents Really Need An Online Test To Know If Their Kids Are Obese?
from the parenting-by-computer dept
We've seen all sorts of stories about governments trying to do a parent's job for them, but, honestly, do parents really need an online test to tell if their children are obese? The article is actually a little vague about what this "test" is. It sounds like kids in the UK are having their height and weight measured, with that info being sent to parents by mail. Parents are then urged to type the height and weight into an online system that will do a simple body mass index (BMI) calculation to tell you that the kid is obese. However, if you need a computer to tell you when your kid is obese then perhaps the real problem is your own eyesight. Do we have an online test for that?Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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I'm sure visual observation is far more accurate than some 'chart'. Those charts can't really take bone mass or muscle mass into account.
I don't need a chart to tell me I'm fat! lol
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Fat Doesn't Seem Fat to Fat People
Anyway, cutting to the chase, people accept overweight as normal weight, at least visually. Most people, particularly people that are overweight themselves, and likely have overweight friends and children, have little concept of the statistical measure of overweight.
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Re: Fat Doesn't Seem Fat to Fat People
That's funny I was told 205lbs is my ideal weight. I am also 6'4".
Ever since my friend used his BMI to get a gastric bypass covered under his health insurance, I don't put much faith in it. For the record he wasn't obese he was just fat.
Obesity is not a desease it's a life choice. I know what you're all thinking "I'm made this way, I can't help it." Bullshit. I understand that no one is made the same. Some are larger than others. But when your arms don't hang down, you're far too fat. When you waddle, your too fat. Every one can be fit. You don't have to have 3% body fat you just have to put some effort into it. It's the reason I'm still skinny, every time I get a potbelly I start working out.
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Count me in
Any parent that can't tell if their kid is overweight is an idiot, and they too can teach, and even demand, that their kids eat healthy, exercise and not stay in the house on the computer or video game for hours.
Should I set an example by losing weight? Probably, but I'm not going to wait and let my kid develop bad habits that can lead to weight gain and possible diabetes why I deal with my own weight problem.
I also think the weight issue is very different from the old days. I was very athletic through college then the weight gain started slowly year by year.
Today many kids are already obese, probably due the the lifestyle we have created with cheap fast food and entertainment from electronics instead of being outside and playing like we did in the past.
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Mexicans, Japanese & Chinese, Europeennes, Russian, Ethiopians and even Americans all have different body builds (read: muscle masses and bone sizes)... how can a single chart be relevant to each of these different cultures all at the same time?
According to the BMI standard, Tom Cruise, Sylvester Stallone, and Mel Gibson are technically obese. So are sluggers Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds, boxer Mike Tyson, quarterback Donovan McNabb, and wrestling superstar The Rock. And it also turns out that Arnold Schwarzenegger—a bodybuilding legend—is obese, too!
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Obesity is not an absoute messure.
"Anyway, cutting to the chase, people accept overweight as normal weight, at least visually. Most people, particularly people that are overweight themselves, and likely have overweight friends and children, have little concept of the statistical measure of overweight."
I think you are very right, and on top of that many obese parents have such a hard time "forgetting" that they themselves are obese, that they are reluctant to do something about their children, because it reminds them of themselves.
I think the government makes a good investment every time they launch a campaign against obesity. If just two kids change their lifestyle for good, then the investment will have earned itself back in their lifetime in reduced medical costs. (Well it would here in Denmark anyway, where healthcare is a gov't provided, citizens right).
I don't know exactly how big a part the US gov't pay in healthcare, but an obese person will potentially be more sick, and potentially make less tax dollers, so that gotta count for somthing too.
Anyway, all $ calculations aside, how much can it hurt to potentially make people take more care about their health?
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Re:
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Reading a bit deeper, could this also mean that since the BMI scale was created a hundred years ago, when people were actually smaller and with shorter life-spans, that today's boys and girls are maturing at a much earlier age? There are many 13 year old girls and 15 year old boys who actually look older than 18 years old.
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I'm overweight....
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I'm overweight....
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Chubby Gets a Second Look (NY Times Article)
Two years ago, federal researchers found that overweight people had the lowest mortality rate of any weight group. Investigating further, they were able to link causes of death to specific weights. Obese people had more deaths from heart disease, they reported last week. And thin people? They had more deaths from everything but cancer and heart disease.
url:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/weekinreview/11kolata.html?ref=todayspaper& ;pagewanted=print
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Where Your Fat Matters, Not If...
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additional factor to having chubby kids
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BMI is completely useless
In my case I'm 6'1" tall and 230 lbs. According to the BMI, my ideal weight should be 180-190 lbs, despite the fact that I have a big frame and work out 4 days a week (30 minutes of cardio and about 45 minutes of weightlifting). I'm pretty sure I'm not obese.
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...
Since BMI is two dimensional, many physically fit people will be considered overweight at first. Until taped (the third dimension), then one can find out their true body fat percentage. Taping around the neck, waist, and thighs achieve this. Of course, there are other methods than taping.
Referring to post #14, I do agree about the parent(s) being extremely paranoid from the media outlets and also many parent(s) working full time hinder them *being* there to supervise children outside. Also, with urban or suburban children, its harder to find those "woods."
True athletes have a very low body fat percentage and a much lower heart rate than the average human being, so take this into account. This is why I support these newer television programs that get children on their feet and exercising but at the same time making it fun. Children naturally have high energy, but if you throw them in front of a television with a program that numbs them, they will be come lethargic.
My opinion is, its not the fault of parent(s) all of the time. We, all, have to look at the big picture. A good read of how the culture of the world is turning, read The Machine Stops (URL: http://c-wd.net/machine/). EM Forster wrote this in 1909 and predicted what is happening today with the Internet, social networking, and how one can become relying on technology.
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BMI/Fat
Second, ignorance runs rampant on both sides of the weight issue. I quote "Obesity is not a desease it's a life choice. I know what you're all thinking "I'm made this way, I can't help it." Bullshit. I understand that no one is made the same. Some are larger than others. But when your arms don't hang down, you're far too fat. When you waddle, your too fat. Every one can be fit." Ignorant, ignorant, ignorant. Yes, some people are overweight because of what they eat, and their failure to excercise, but some are overweight because of genetic diseases, thyroid problems (which may or may not be genetic), and sometimes an INABILITY to excercise. Weight has always been a class issue as well. At one time it was seen as an indication of wealth (a thought that still exists in some countries.) In the US today, it is more of an indication of poverty, as the foods that are available cheaply are high in calories and carbohydrates. Vegetables and meat are damn expensive.
Furthermore, not everyone looks down on being overweight as a problem. Yes, it is likely to cause some health issues, but there are people out there who are overweight, yet more fit than some thin people.
Besides, big-bellied men are very sexy.
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Obesity
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Re: Obesity
Healthy food is pretty cheap.
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pfft its easy to tell
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Re: Obesity by vanessa
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Fat is fat ...
I actually did have a physical problem/reaction for three years from medecine I had to take and couldn't exercise, but I didn't get fat, I just cut calorie intake and any kind of junk food. It just takes extra willpower that fat lazy people don't have.
Oh yeah, fat pot bellied men are only sexy to ugly fat women.
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all of this
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