'Fat letters' sent home to students cause a stir


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/sigh

Also in health care, but retired.

For 20+ years the limitations of BMI have been known, especially for those who have very large muscle masses (me) and other outliers. If you aren't aware of those limitations you should be. If you're ignoring them just so you can continue with your unprofessional ad-homs, we have nothing else to say to each other.

Was not talking about BMI, rather your attitude to being overweight in the rest of your post. BMI isnt accurate yes, but neither is your careless attitude to being overweight especially given your medical history but actually in a sense that make this unsurprising.

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If our schools when spend the majority of time on teaching our kids reading, writing, and arithmetic and less time on crap like this, maybe we would have kids graduating school that actually knew something.

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That's odd -- always some in my vegetable soup. :p

And I'm sure it contained salt as well but that doesn't make it a vegetable. :shiftyninja:

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If our schools when spend the majority of time on teaching our kids reading, writing, and arithmetic and less time on crap like this, maybe we would have kids graduating school that actually knew something.

They haven't ceased teaching those things in order to deal with obesity.

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They haven't ceased teaching those things in order to deal with obesity.

For the most part they have. Our education system is mostly a laughingstock.

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For the most part they have. Our education system is mostly a laughingstock.

But it isn't because of this.

Lack of funding, over-sized classrooms, some would argue teacher's unions protect crappy teachers from being fired, etc. Sending home fat letters isn't the thing dragging down the U.S. education system.

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But it isn't because of this.

Lack of funding, over-sized classrooms, some would argue teacher's unions protect crappy teachers from being fired, etc. Sending home fat letters isn't the thing dragging down the U.S. education system.

Re-read what I wrote. I never said it was. I said we need to get back to spending the majority of time on teaching our kids reading, writing, and arithmetic. Of course this isn't the major cause for our downfall.

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No, corn is a grain. While it has many healthy uses, the US corn subsidies?combined with domestic quotas on sugar production and import tariffs on foreign sugar?have encouraged incredibly unhealthy uses, like High Fructose Corn Syrup. It has contributed to the obesity epidemic.

actually..... corn is a vegetable grain... it fits both definitions

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Wow, you are an idiot. I have a BMI that puts me on the verge of overweight, yet I run 70 miles per week and have run a 2:48 marathon. I have a lot of muscle mass and higher bone density than most people. My body fat percentage is 8%, yet according to you I should be "guilty of my condition" due to a high BMI number....

So are you. Your health is in the vast minority. Think of others.

If you ever got a letter saying you were overweight do you suddenly ponder about your diet and raise your fists? Or do you just laugh at it and crumple it and pop it in the bin. I'm sure most people used to do the latter, but now since were all so self-obsessed about 'hurt feelings' verging on the ridiculous, we forget other may very well benefit from it.

If it's not directed at you, ignore it and carry on instead of having a moan and calling it 'stupid'.

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Damn all the fatties, make them run everywhere and don't feed them anything until they no longer ruin our lives with their flabiness :rofl:

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actually..... corn is a vegetable grain... it fits both definitions

Around here, the backyard vegetables gardens, usually include some rows of corn. ;)

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if your BMI registers as obese ... accounting muscle mass or not... YOU ARE OBESE ... I hate fat children... what is the point ? your life has pretty much been ruined normally thanks to bad parenting ...

gah seriously one of my pet peeves is people not accepting that they or their child is FAT... they are so lazy they cannot even be bothered to open their eyes let alone get of the couch .. walking to the fridge and back or walking to school is not active .. grrr *sorry for my odd rant*

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Re-read what I wrote. I never said it was. I said we need to get back to spending the majority of time on teaching our kids reading, writing, and arithmetic. Of course this isn't the major cause for our downfall.

This is taking up very little time. People just aren't thrilled about finding out their kids are fatties.

If our schools when spend the majority of time on teaching our kids reading, writing, and arithmetic and less time on crap like this, maybe we would have kids graduating school that actually knew something.

---
?I don?t think all of a sudden we have to wake up and say that people in Massachusetts need to be told everything to do with their kids whether to feed them a cupcake or to feed them broccoli,? said State Representative Jim Lyons.

Apparently, you do.

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Here is something-- maybe they should take the blame-- after all--

The school that is...

North Andover High offers courses in the major disciplines: Mathematics, Science, History, and English, as well as five foreign languages (Spanish, German, Chinese,Giberish, and French). Art, music and physical education programs are also offered, although budget shortfalls have resulted in substantial cuts to every area of learning (with art, music and physical education hit the hardest)

I was also reading that most of the school's only have Physical Education Twice a week for 1 hour. I remember when I was in school I had it everyday for one hour and a half. Lunch was after P.E. which filled the thirty minute slot.

So then now they forcing the students to stay in the classroom to study for the Standardized tests not to mention over half of the after school programs were cut.

And they want to blame the parents only... not to mention.. they don't want to offer healthier choices in their meal programs.

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if your BMI registers as obese ... accounting muscle mass or not... YOU ARE OBESE ... I hate fat children... what is the point ? your life has pretty much been ruined normally thanks to bad parenting ...

gah seriously one of my pet peeves is people not accepting that they or their child is FAT... they are so lazy they cannot even be bothered to open their eyes let alone get of the couch .. walking to the fridge and back or walking to school is not active .. grrr *sorry for my odd rant*

Bad parenting or not, why put so much effort and thought into how you feel about someone else being fat? why do you even care, it's someone else it has no barring on you

It sounds to me like you're hating on yourself and trying to shift blame of your problems to your parents, if that's so, your life is only ruined if you give up and blame other people

and never try.

And while generally and technically true, if according to the BMI scale you're obese, you are, but are you unhealthly? that's the difference, the BMI scale doesn't distinguish between fat and lean mass

That's where the flaw in the BMI scale lies, according to the BMI scale Hugh Jackman in the Wolverine movie was overweight, add another 20lbs of muscle and he's obese.

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Bad parenting or not, why put so much effort and thought into how you feel about someone else being fat? why do you even care, it's someone else it has no barring on you

It sounds to me like you're hating on yourself and trying to shift blame of your problems to your parents, if that's so, your life is only ruined if you give up and blame other people

and never try.

And while generally and technically true, if according to the BMI scale you're obese, you are, but are you unhealthly? that's the difference, the BMI scale doesn't distinguish between fat and lean mass

That's where the flaw in the BMI scale lies, according to the BMI scale Hugh Jackman in the Wolverine movie was overweight, add another 20lbs of muscle and he's obese.

I shall address in reverse order... the obese question ... YES ...it does you are just as likly to have a heart attack from being to muscly ... having more muscle is not a benefit .... as I said OBESE is the issue not over weight BMI is touch and go ... I am 6ft5 and way 215 pounds I am technically over weight but I go to the gym.. train 3 times a week and keep my self fit with my personal trainer and work out routine ... my body fat is small... now I still eat like a pig.. but I am fit.. my blood pressure is perfect and I have no related issues and I have always been ideal weight for my build...

being obese is a large jump from over weight, I have no issue with my parents but I do have issues with the decline of the human race.. why is tons of money a year spent on treatment of health issues relating to obesity when the problem can be solved by simply putting down the fork...II get some people have other issues thats fine ... but lets talk about the majority which do not.. why should I not be mad? it is sadly my problem .. it does have barring .... I sadly cannot go into why as I am sure I will be chased off this site with pitch forks and fire... but one of the reasons is in my country, they take the tax payers money... get sick ? ok cool go to the hospital or local doctor ... heart hurts because you wont even try (all i ask is they try with ... I mean a valid attempt) then stay at home and be quiet.

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<snippidy snip>

Remember muscle is denser than fat, so 20lbs of muscle wont have the same affect as 20lbs of fat does on the body, being obese because of muscle

doesn't have the same affect as it does because of fat, EDIT: there are tipping points for both obviously when it's just bad all around.

I agree with you in the public healthcare sense, while it is a problem in Canada too, and they don't always push to treat the cause, but I suspect a lot of doctors do

But there isn't really much anyone can do to force them without going all Hitler on people, you can try to educate, which is only half of the battle when all the wrong

foods are cheap and the right ones are expensive.

We're kind of trailing off here though, so it's probably best we agree to disagree on some things and agree on others.

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