The Student Body Page #10

because kids at our school,

they had to get on the scale

to be weighed for BMI test.

Okay. I'm willing

to do it

but I think it was only fair

to let me know

that you're gonna do

stuff like that beforehand,

but okay, I mean I'll do BMI.

Okay.

Do you want me to step on it

with my shoes

or without my shoes?

Oh, you can... you can take off

your shoes if you want.

Okay. I don't wanna

mess up your scale

so I'm asking you

for that reason.

Yeah, it'll be okay.

Okay.

We'll weigh...

The entire documentary?

The entire documentary.

The entire documentary

is about...

Childhood obesity,

but one part of it is about

and how

I don't know...

I don't know what that means.

Oh, a hundred

and ninety-three.

You mean in terms of my weight?

Yeah.

No.

What?

Did he say, no?

I guess we've all been there

at some point.

Looking down at that number

in disbelief,

telling the scales, "no."

After spending an awkward moment

debating whether scales

are more accurate

on carpet or tile,

the senator finally agreed

to his weight.

We can just use this number.

It's 19... it says 193.

Yeah.

I'm 72 inches.

Thank you for doing that.

Okay. Well, I don't

have a problem.

I mean...

Just some people...

If you wanna know my BMI,

I don't...

I don't mind that.

Some people feel like

being weighed is uncomfortable

and they only think

it's for them

and their doctor.

Okay, well...

Can you understand how...

People can have...

Can have that opinion.

Sure.

Yeah. Do you feel like I,

kind of, crossed my boundaries

asking you

to do something personal

that's between you

and your doctor?

No, this is what I think.

If you had told me beforehand,

I would have been

more than happy

to agree to do that.

So, you know,

if you wanna know my BMI,

it's not really quite frankly

that personal.

- I don't really mind it.

- Yeah.

Or if somebody wants

to know my weight,

- that's okay, too.

- You seem very fit,

but what about,

like, overweight kids,

can you understand

how overweight kids

feel uncomfortable?

Yes. Yes.

I understand.

I'm empathetic to that.

Yeah? Okay.

Certainly.

You can look at a person

and tell that person

has obesity or not

because a person, unfortunately,

wears that disease

on their body.

You don't need

a special screening

to find that out.

And perhaps that makes people

jump to give helpful advice

to those who are suffering

from that disease, obesity.

But trust me,

those people know that.

They don't... you don't need

to tell somebody have...

That they have obesity or not.

You may have to tell somebody

whether they have

diabetes or not

or high blood pressure or not,

but you don't need

to tell somebody

who has obesity or not.

They... that person knows that.

The assumption behind

telling somebody

that you have obesity,

the assumption is,

that person is choosing

not to lose weight.

And that is a very wrong

assumption.

So simply pointing out

that you have more bodyweight

means nothing

in terms of that person

being able to take

a meaningful corrective action.

210 divided by...

72 squared.

Seventy-two squared.

That's, seven... okay.

So that's 28.4.

Okay, let's see right here.

That isn't... on here,

it's such a narrow range.

- Uh-hmm.

- For the healthy weight.

Yeah, that's over...

So forty-four,

three.

Yeah, that's obese.

Yeah.

Okay.

200 divided by...

66 squared.

Squared

okay.

- He is overweight.

- Okay.

Get that up there.

Okay, the next one.

Okay, okay.

Okay, here.

Oh, that's just shocking.

All these people

voted for the goal

and most of them

this is interesting.

Oh, my gosh.

Yeah.

There's only three people

that meet it.

Yeah, and all

these people wanted,

like, this bill to happen

and they all themselves

are overweight or obese.

Like, how can you talk?

Yeah. And how

could you bully

someone else and being like,

"you don't fit

the standards?"

But...

Yeah.

We're gonna... we're gonna try

to change that.

So we're here

at the state house.

We're delivering the fat letters

that we've been working on

to the senators

who voted for the bill

and it says their BMI,

it has the same language

as the letter

that Maddie received.

And we're gonna go up there

and deliver them together

and so just holding them

to the same standards

just like they did to us.

Over there.

Yeah.

All right.

Let's go.

Here it is.

We found it.

Hold this.

Oops.

All right.

Are you ready?

All right

yeah, I mean, I understand that.

When we were walking

on the hallway

like getting ready to,

like, deliver it

and one of the senators

walked out,

it just... it all hit me

at once.

It became real

and then when we, like,

went up to her office

and we saw her nameplate,

I just...

It felt so wrong

because she's a real person.

She wasn't just a face

on the Internet.

I mean, she was

just like me and you,

and I know I felt

and I felt crushed

and horrible by myself.

I felt like I didn't

belong anywhere.

And I would never

wanna make anyone feel that way.

I'm sorry that I've... like,

we talked about this

and I was so ready to do this.

Yeah.

I came here wanting

to do this and I just...

It just made me feel bad

when I received the letter.

I mean, I felt uncomfortable

about it, too.

I thought it was mean

but I mean, then again,

I just had in my head

holding them

to the same standards,

but I understand.

I'm glad you stepped up.

I just couldn't go

through with it.

I feel bad because I was like,

"here, I'll give it

to him ."

Like, I was stepping up for you.

But then you're right,

it wasn't the right thing to do.

Well, I mean,

I guess you could be

a good bureaucrat

because, I mean...

Because I don't have feelings?

Yes, because you don't have

any feelings.

Well, actually,

hold that thought.

I still have the letters.

So when you leave,

I'm going back up there

and I'm giving some senators

some letters.

Oh, my gosh.

You would make

a perfect bureaucrat.

When I see young people

using their experience,

using their insight

to speak up

and speak out,

it's so wonderful.

And it does give me hope.

It can bring about change

on a personal level

and the other

really amazing thing

is that it can bring

about change

on a cultural level

and real measurable change.

It has become my...

Sort of my religion that I want

to do something to this field.

Now, I don't...

I don't have the arrogance

to think I'm gonna

change everything

and cure this global

epidemic of obesity

that we have,

but I want to be able

to contribute

to whatever extent I can

and that's my, passion.

Let's not make health

one more

kind of measuring stick,

one more moral ruler

to beat kids on the head with.

Let's give them room

to be healthy

and love themselves.

When you think

about the understandings

we've come up with

over the last,

you know, 20 years,

the... it's really changed

the way we look at the problem.

And I think we are starting

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