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U.K. Schools to Introduce “Fat” Report Cards
July 28, 2008 1:08 PM
By Ammu Kannampilly, ABC News London
As if British kids didn’t have enough to worry about, now the U.K. government plans to have “fat” report cards sent to their parents.
Under the new scheme, parents will be sent reports detailing their children’s weight at ages 5 and 10.
If a child is considered to be overweight, parents will be sent information about eating healthy and exercising, to help them tackle their child's weight problem earlier in life.
The new initiative is set to roll out in September. It was formulated in response to recent government research that uncovered some startling statistics about child obesity in the U.K.
According to the most recent figures, one in 10 children between four and five is obese, while 13 percent are overweight. Among 10 - to 11-year-olds, 17.5 percent are obese, and another 14.2 percent are overweight.
Last week in a speech to the thinktank, The Fabian Society, British Health Secretary Alan Johnson called obesity “the biggest health challenge” faced by the U.K.
The British Medical Association has warned that one out of every four British children will be obese by the year 2020, and that the next generation of Britons is likely to have a shorter lifespan than their parents.
Despite all these issues, British health officials have not been terribly forthcoming in their support of the new plan.
The National Obesity Forum told the U.K. tabloid The Daily Mail that the program did not go far enough, and said that children should be weighed and measured annually.
When ABCNews.com contacted the BMA, the association said, “ We are refusing to comment on the scheme.”
Politicians have already weighed in on the issue, with politicians from the opposition Conservative Party criticizing the government for stepping in and taking over from parents.
But Paul Sacher, a paediatric dietician at the Childhood Nutrition Research Centre in London, told the British newspaper, The Daily Telegraph that many parents need help from the government.
“There is a major problem with parents' perception of their children's weight,” he said.
“As all children are getting bigger, it is becoming more difficult for parents to work out whether their children are overweight by just looking at them and comparing them to other kids. The only way we can work out whether children are getting bigger is to weigh them all.”
But not all parents are keen to get involved. They are allowed to opt out of the weighing program.
Last year, thousands of parents kept their children from attending school on “weighing day.”
Nevertheless, this new scheme may spark copy-cat programs in other countries battling obesity.
Paul Zimmet, head of the International Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia , and a member of the government's obesity task force, has openly expressed his support for the initiative.
Zimmet told the newspaper, The Australian, that “these are the kinds of options we need to be looking at.”
And, in the U.K.’s Lake District, the first boarding school exclusively for overweight children, ages 11 to 18 , is set to open shop in 2011.
July 28, 2008 in Ammu Kannampilly | Permalink | User Comments (5)
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Since when is shaming children for physical appearance a good thing?
A sensible approach to exercise in
schools would be far better. You can't dictate to parents who obviously find
nothing wrong with their diet or can't
afford/have access to healthy options.
Posted by: Nina Guidry | Jul 28, 2008 2:08:41 PM
It's not shaming a child, its educating the parents who are responsible for what their child eats. At the end of the day if it works it will give these children a much better quality of life. Exercise in schools is already compulsorary. Good point about parents not being able to afford certain types of healthy food though, but I think in most cases its down to laziness and lack of awareness.
Posted by: Jon | Jul 28, 2008 8:13:15 PM
I agree with Nina that it's shaming. I grew up fighting it - so I kind of know what I'm talking about. It will most likely make a few do worse. I agree more exercise in schools. Something more positive is entirely better. Oh, and my own kid's struggled. I'd have to be a moron not to see we had issues. I am not buying parents can't tell.
Posted by: Sandra | Jul 29, 2008 1:05:33 AM
Thats right, it is entirely shaming for the child... because not only will the child be punished at school for his/her weight, then the parents will shame the child at home about their weight too. Nevermind that the child might do all their chores, homework, get wonderful grades, do community work, participate in church related activities, and be an all around wonderful person - see its their Weight that matters. Don't pretend its about their health, or quality of life, because people don't care if someone is unhealthy - they care if they're considered unattractive. Look at all our herion/cocaine addicted models, they are drug addled and starving - but they're thin and that's what matters to society. Start the fat bashing on these kids early folks - don't improve their school diet, or the cost of healthy food overall. Make sure to instill it in them as young as possible that the world doesn't care about anything but how you look - so we can have a generation of 100% eating disorder children who feel worthless if they look like normal human beings.
Posted by: Madrigorne | Jul 29, 2008 6:08:06 AM
Here Here Nina - I agree!
Posted by: Juliana | Aug 15, 2008 12:05:23 AM
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