The Student Body Page #5

"to go through

this kind of testing

in our school."

So, how does schools like this

get away with ignoring

the mandate?

As it turns out,

the law does allow for a waiver

to be issued.

But there's a catch.

A district has to claim

a financial hardship

to get it.

So, what if your objection

is philosophical?

The question I have

is what do we do

with a school district

who may wish

to opt out for philosophical

or other reasons?

This would not allow them

to do this.

So, I'd like a clarification

on that, please.

Senator Cadman, would you, uh...

I don't agree with that.

Senator Cadman, would you reply

to the chair, please?

Hmm, a tricky one.

I am gonna phone a friend.

What? Phone a friend?

Oh, call me. I know this one.

The answer

you're looking for is, no.

Senator Cadman, it looked like

you established contact

- with that friend...

- No.

Without phoning.

But I'll...

I will phone a friend

and ask senator Seitz

who indicates that there is...

There is a answer

to that specific question.

What?

Just answer the question. No.

Thank you very much,

Mr. president.

My good friend from Butler

county raises a very good point

because the requirement

to get the waiver

is that it be

for financial reasons

- and...

- Clear enough,

that's a no.

Oh, wait, he's still talking.

If indeed

the requirement violates

the philosophic position

of the school,

clearly, that could have

a financial impact

on the school because...

Ah, I see where this is heading.

I believe that this goes

against their philosophy.

They are not going to send

their children to the school.

And that will clearly create

financial hardship

to the school,

then therefore,

all they've got to do

is turn in an affidavit.

In other words,

make up a fantastic,

convoluted story

that ends with an imaginary

financial hardship

for your school.

Then, with a wink and a nod

from the state,

you've got yourself a waiver.

The beauty of this amendment

is that the affidavit

is in effect,

self-effectuating.

It is an automatic waiver

and that's why

that last sentence...

My dad once told me

that people shouldn't see

how sausage in malls are made.

I never really understood

what that meant

until just now.

So, for those schools

that have

a philosophic objection

that will lead

to financial hardship,

for those schools that don't

wanna spend the extra money

for financial hardship,

one simple affidavit

is a self-effectuating way...

Ugh, that's disgusting.

Can we just take that off

the screen, please?

Oh, okay, that's better.

I'm sorry everybody

had to see that.

Then again, I'm just a kid.

I'm probably

just misunderstanding

all of this beautiful language.

The board signed off on it

and I made the application

for the waiver.

I don't think it was a great

financial burden.

It was more of a philosophical.

Nope, I was right.

We're all in the same page here.

In spite of the criticism,

other states have begun adopting

similar BMI notifications.

But why are they so popular

among lawmakers?

At Columbia university,

I met with professor

Sayantani Dasgupta

who is also a pediatrician

and mother.

We have these

knee jerk reactions

to things that we see as crisis.

And we wanna do

the right thing, right?

We want a healthy

nation of kids.

And so, we think,

"well, gee,

what's something quick

and far reaching

and simple that we can do?"

And I think that's how people

fall into these traps

of legislation like this.

And it's very attractive

kind of one quick answer,

one quick number

that's gonna tell you

healthy or not?

And yet,

the indicator itself,

BMI itself,

may not be an accurate

measure of anything.

And that's a really

kind of harsh reality to face

when you've made

a bunch of legislation

based on the truthiness

of this number.

Then, the possibility is,

no matter how good

the intentions,

we might be doing

more harm than good, right?

But it seems lawmakers

don't wanna talk

about that possibility

and all the good

intentions in the world

don't necessarily lead

to good results.

So, with everyone I interview,

I conduct my own BMI test.

And so... yes.

Do you now?

So I have a scale today

and I was wondering,

would you like to be

a part of my BMI test?

Thank you very much

for the offer.

Um, I don't think

our young people

should be being weighed

in gym class.

And I think I will choose

to not be weighed today either.

Okay, I totally understand.

So, you'd like to exercise

your right to choose?

I do.

You choose no.

Although I appreciate

your private...

Yeah.

Door-to-door BMI service.

It's perfectly fine.

You know,

I exercise my right

and I'm not particularly

affected by it.

What worries me

is that I don't think

my 10-year-old daughter,

I don't think

she would have the room

- or even know it was an option...

- Yeah.

To exercise her right

not to get on that scale.

Officials in several

states have adapted

a controversial tactic

in trying to bring

childhood obesity

under control.

They're sending

what some call...

Nineteen states

across the country

this September

are considering sending

these letters home.

States across from, uh, new

York to Arkansas to Illinois

are participating in this.

They're monitoring

how fat the kid is...

Florida law

that requires students

to have health screenings

is stirring up controversy.

The parents of a young girl

in Naples, Florida...

are being sent home

to children as a part

of the Massachusetts department

of public health's policy

to inform parents

of their child's body mass index

or BMI and their risk

of obesity.

As government BMI initiatives

and fat letters

spread like wildfire

across the country,

it even extends to kids

who aren't overweight at all.

We got it, everyone

got it that day in school.

And, you know, we were all...

I think we were pretty much

all called overweight.

My friend said she cried at home

because she was called obese.

And she's not obese.

And it was one of my best

friends, you know.

Yeah.

So, it says that I'm 60...

I was 66 pounds...

Uh-huh.

And my BMI was 19.

Okay.

So, it says here, current BMI

is 19, placing you

in the 88th percentile

for child...

For girls age nine.

Your BMI falls outside

the healthy weight.

Please review your BMI

with a healthcare provider.

And I was like,

"oh, I'm overweight."

Yeah.

And, like, at first,

I was like,

"oh, I'm only 66 pounds."

And then, I looked, I'm like...

I'm like, wow.

The normal...

I'm 88th percentile...

- Uh-huh.

- And the normal one

is 77th percentile.

So, I'm only

10 away from normal...

From like, you know,

what they say is normal health.

They're going about it

in the wrong way.

To me, it's just a way

for them to say,

"well, we're doing something.

We're combating

childhood obesity."

You're not combating

childhood obesity.

You're... you know,

you're simply

sending home a letter

that in fact might be doing

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes