Should schools provide reports on children's health?

YES
Leticia Van de Putte
We can protect children's health—and their privacy

There is an undeniable national movement to improve the health of our children that has been fueled by an alarming rise in the economic and social costs associated with obesity. In the United States, hospital costs on obese children and adolescents more than tripled between 1979 and 1999—from $35 million to $127 million. For the first time in more than a century, it is predicted that children in Texas will have shorter life expectancies than their parents.

Childhood obesity in the United States has reached epidemic levels, and we are now facing a healthcare crisis of enormous proportions.

As a state senator in Texas, where three of our most populated cities rank in the top 10 most obese cities in the country, I understand the urgency of this problem. Texas reports show that nearly 39 percent of fourth-graders in the state are considered overweight or obese. This is why I have introduced Senate Bill 205, which would require school districts to measure a student’s body mass index (BMI) and provide parents with information regarding their own child’s health status. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the BMI, which is the measurement of body fat based on height and weight, can be very useful in assessing the overall health of a student, thus protecting against life-threatening illnesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea and gallbladder disease.

Through S.B. 205, we would create a separate “Health Information Report Card” to be given directly to the parents of students in grades K-8 annually. This confidential health report card would provide parents with their child’s health status and empower them with information on making healthy lifestyle choices. The BMI assessment would be conducted privately by a school nurse or physical education teacher; BMI for children is measured by a percentile that is age and gender appropriate.

As a pharmacist, it breaks my heart to see children come in not just for medicine to cure their sniffles, or bandages for their scraped knees, but for vials of insulin for their adult-onset diabetes and high blood pressure medicine for their struggling hearts. As the daughter of a retired teacher (and sister to high school, middle school and kindergarten teachers) I realize firsthand the critical role that educators play in protecting and promoting the well-being of our future generations and the effect of our students’ health on their academic success.

S.B. 205 and similar legislation throughout the United States take a much-needed step in the right direction—toward creating a productive dialogue within our communities about our children’s health, toward fostering a bridge between parents and educators, toward creating a healthy and economically productive generation of tomorrow by protecting our children today.

Leticia Van de Putte, a pharmacist for more than 25 years, represents a large portion of San Antonio and Bexar County in the Texas Senate.

NO
Jen Chung
Student weigh-ins are a nonsolution to a real problem

The growing number of overweight and obese American children has prompted much concern from all corners. Government officials are trying to get in the act as well.

In an effort to react to this growing crisis, a New York state assemblyman has proposed a $1.5 million initiative that would make student weigh-ins a part of their report card.

While it’s a noble intent to ensure that parents are kept abreast of their children’s health, putting student weights on report cards is a terrible idea. Report cards already hold considerable psychological power. They are gauges of how well a child is doing academically. Report cards include some information on social growth, but it’s supposed to be about the child’s academic potential. The problem is that some parents praise or criticize children based on what the report cards say, and it’s more than probable that children already blamed for bringing in bad grades will be blamed further for their physical shortcomings.

And parents simply may resent being “criticized” on how they are raising their children.

Even if parents are thick-skinned, who is to say they will understand, or act constructively, when they get report cards featuring students’ body mass index (BMI) and pronouncements that their children are underweight, overweight, obese or normal? Adding weights to report cards will increase the confusion and angst of families, and it will put more pressure on teachers and school officials.

And then there are the students. Do Johnny and Jane need to hear that not only are they middle-of-the-road students but they also need to drop a few? Aren’t young adults a population overrepresented among Americans with eating disorders? Is that going to improve when post-report-card discussions of “what did you get?” become “what did you weigh?”

Finally, can teachers and school officials, with so much pressure on them to guard the well-being of children, really be held responsible for what may come down to being a family lifestyle issue? Teachers are great at noticing things that may be helping or impeding children, and should be able to voice their thoughts. However, the ultimate burden of a child’s well-being lies with the parents.

Schools do have the power to help open the eyes of families about serious issues, but schools cannot be held responsible for every aspect of a child’s life. An expanded health and physical education curriculum, augmented by diet and exercise workshops during parent-teacher conferences, could get the same ideas across, but without as much pressure being placed on the students, the parents or the teachers. Attacking this problem through programs that promote a healthy diet and regular exercise rather than a costly and unproven yardstick may not be a new approach, but it sure makes sense to me.