Boy Scouts ban obese kids from Jamboree

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  • tfpdunn
    tfpdunn Posts: 68 Member
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    I'm an Eagle Scout too, OP, but I'm totally on board with this. It's not discrimination, it's trying to protect children from health risks. Do we really think it's good to encourage kids to be 100 lbs overweight? To have a BMI of 40+? That's just scary!

    "To be eligible for this year's mass gathering, tens of thousands of Scouts (and their leaders) had to meet standards for Body Mass Index and other health factors. Scouts whose BMI was 40 or above were banned from the 10,600-acre Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve, while those between 32 and 39.9 had to submit medical information to be approved."

    I say good for the BSA - they're trying to be proactive on a major issue and help their members better themselves!

    Edited to add - If I'd attended this as a Boy Scout, I would have had to have weighed 270 pounds to be excluded. And at 16 years old, it would have been totally right to exclude my fat butt for my own good!
  • moosegt35
    moosegt35 Posts: 1,296 Member
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    I'm an Eagle Scout too, OP, but I'm totally on board with this. It's not discrimination, it's trying to protect children from health risks. Do we really think it's good to encourage kids to be 100 lbs overweight? To have a BMI of 40+? That's just scary!

    "To be eligible for this year's mass gathering, tens of thousands of Scouts (and their leaders) had to meet standards for Body Mass Index and other health factors. Scouts whose BMI was 40 or above were banned from the 10,600-acre Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve, while those between 32 and 39.9 had to submit medical information to be approved."

    I say good for the BSA - they're trying to be proactive on a major issue and help their members better themselves!

    Edited to add - If I'd attended this as a Boy Scout, I would have had to have weighed 270 pounds to be excluded. And at 16 years old, it would have been totally right to exclude my fat butt for my own good!

    QFT
  • happywithme12
    happywithme12 Posts: 477 Member
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    This makes me soooooo mad, my 10 year old daughter is heavy but very very active, she plays soccer and basketball and loves to swim. She may not be able to run fast or do some things but just because she is chunky doesn't mean she can't do a lot of things that my twig of a daughter couln't do because she is not as active. People need to wake up and think about things before they take a stupid action like this---makes me want to scream in there face.

    Is your dauhter a BMI of 40+, morbidly obese? If she plays soccer I am willing to bet that she isn't. If not, then this rule effects her 0%. You sell insurance, you should know that these risks, as well as obesity, the chance of getting sued, etc raise these insurnace premiums. Why should a PRIVATE organization take on more costs, risks, etc in order to cater to children who are dangerously obese?


    I think you are totally being incompetent about this whole thing, maybe you were never overweight as a kid but a lot of us know what its like and being excluded in one thing may not mean anything to some people but to someone that gets picked last all the time in gym class because they are "the fat kid" and someone that gets pushed around all the time because people are jerks, then yes being excluded from one thing is a big deal. Maybe you should take in to account the feelings of these kids, who is to say they won't be able to do it. I think the only ones that would be able to say if they can do it or not is themselves or there parents. Its wrong to exclude certain people from things and to top it all off something like this is healthy for these kids and helpful. I don't know what my daughter BMI is because it not something that I would say is important for a 10 year old to know if they are active and don't have health issues already.
  • tfpdunn
    tfpdunn Posts: 68 Member
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    What's QFT?
  • moosegt35
    moosegt35 Posts: 1,296 Member
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    What's QFT?

    quoted for truth
  • moosegt35
    moosegt35 Posts: 1,296 Member
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    This makes me soooooo mad, my 10 year old daughter is heavy but very very active, she plays soccer and basketball and loves to swim. She may not be able to run fast or do some things but just because she is chunky doesn't mean she can't do a lot of things that my twig of a daughter couln't do because she is not as active. People need to wake up and think about things before they take a stupid action like this---makes me want to scream in there face.

    Is your dauhter a BMI of 40+, morbidly obese? If she plays soccer I am willing to bet that she isn't. If not, then this rule effects her 0%. You sell insurance, you should know that these risks, as well as obesity, the chance of getting sued, etc raise these insurnace premiums. Why should a PRIVATE organization take on more costs, risks, etc in order to cater to children who are dangerously obese?


    I think you are totally being incompetent about this whole thing, maybe you were never overweight as a kid but a lot of us know what its like and being excluded in one thing may not mean anything to some people but to someone that gets picked last all the time in gym class because they are "the fat kid" and someone that gets pushed around all the time because people are jerks, then yes being excluded from one thing is a big deal. Maybe you should take in to account the feelings of these kids, who is to say they won't be able to do it. I think the only ones that would be able to say if they can do it or not is themselves or there parents. Its wrong to exclude certain people from things and to top it all off something like this is healthy for these kids and helpful. I don't know what my daughter BMI is because it not something that I would say is important for a 10 year old to know if they are active and don't have health issues already.

    I am being "Not having the necessary skills to do something successfully" about this? That doesn't even make sense. Anyway, I actually was overweight as a kid, I was nowhere near a 40 BMI though, that's being as wide as you are tall in a lot of cases, especially for kids. You are thinking emotionally and not rationally about this. Why in any logical manner should a child that is morbidly obese be allowed to try to participate in this event? Have you read up on the event AT ALL? It's 50+ miles in the mountains, kayaking, zip lines, rought terrain, etc in the middle of nowhere. If they can't keep going, pass out, get sick, etc they can't just be put in a John Deere Gator and taken back to camp for medical attention, they are stuck in the middle of nowhere possibly without an adult even in sight. They can do EVERYTHING else in boy scouts, just not this one event that is not made for kids that size. BMI is easy to calculate and if your daughter is at 40 she isn't active and is in GREAT danger of health problems. We aren't talking about kids that are fat or chubby here, we are talking about KIDS that are 100 or more pounds overweight, carrying this weight around on growing and undeveloped bones. It is not in any way healthy what so ever.

    Here is a generic chart showing examples of certain BMI. Take a look at the 40 range. I know BMI isn't a great measure for very muscular athletes, but that situation makes a fraction of a percentage of the people that actually fall into this BMI range, the rest are morbidly obese.

    I didn't notice until I posted the link that it's actually referring to this particular topic. Read that article and tell me why this is not a good idea from the BSA.

    http://www.medicaldaily.com/articles/17446/20130716/obese-boy-scouts-national-jamboree-bmi-obesity.htm
  • Mustang_Susie
    Mustang_Susie Posts: 7,045 Member
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    Let's address the issue here: if the obese kids can't participate, then why should they be scouts? If it's to build camraderie and to be more social, then singling them out to be banned for participating isn't achieving that. Logically they shouldn't be on the 50 mile hike, climb, etc, but as mentioned there can be an alternative challenge.
    What about boy scouts who have prosthetics? Or who are blind? Or cerebral palsy? They banned too?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    From THIS PARTICULAR NATIONAL EVENT? probably so. They are NOT banned from boy scouts, they are banned from ONE event in which it is not safe for them to participate in. They should be scouts because they get to do EVERY OTHER event that isn't even in the same ball park of danger, and exertion that this one is. I have no idea why this is hard for you people to understand. It isn't safe, practical and would put the BSA at great risk for law suits and sky rocketed insurance premiums.

    It's kind of like why I (at 6'11") can't ride certain rides at a theme park. Why not? I am a perfectly healthy adult that can fit in the ride and get my safety harness buckled. I can't ride it because the manufacturer's put a max height limit on the ride in order to prevent injury, law suits and extreme insurance premiums. Well why should I even go to the theme park? Because I can participate in all of the other rides that are made to accomodate someone my size. I suppose they should make me a "special cart" on the ONE ride that I want to ride though so it's safe.

    At 6'5" my husband could join you on the special cart.
    He's waited in line for hours with my daughter only to get into the car and be told told that the harness does not secure him safely.
    Did he cry foul?
    Nope, he's graciously exited and was thankful he wasn't allowed to be put in a potentially dangerous situation.

    Does anyone have the numbers on 40+ BMI kids who attempted to register for the Jamboree but were turned down?
  • Briko3
    Briko3 Posts: 266 Member
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    If a kid has a BMI of 40+, the parents need to be taking the blame instead of putting it on the boy scouts.
  • moosegt35
    moosegt35 Posts: 1,296 Member
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    If a kid has a BMI of 40+, the parents need to be taking the blame instead of putting it on the boy scouts.

    Very much so
  • TK266
    TK266 Posts: 3,689 Member
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    If it's ONE event, then I will agree. But it's the entire jamboree if that's my understanding. I mean, shooting an arrow doesn't need a ton of physical ability. Learning camping skills neither. If it's ONE demanding physical event, then yes they should be not expected to participate.

    The Jamboree site is at 10,500 feet. BSA rules states that for all high adventure camping trips, scouts need a medical sign off to attend events such as this. a scout or adult could be excluded for health related reason link to weight, physical attributes, diseases or any other reason their DOCTOR does not feel they are fit for camp.

    As I have stated, my troop has several boys who over or near 40 bmi (and not because they are 16 year old football players/body builders), but their doctors have signed off and said they can attend. I was not signed off by my doctor several years ago due to him not like the looks of my blood test. at the scout camp I spent last week at there were numerous overweight (very big) scouts.

    This policy has been in place for at least the 8 years I have been in scouting. It is just this is the first time that the National Jamboree is taking place at it new location (with the 10,500 feet elevation) and this one aspect of the medical sign off has been picked up by the press.
  • Mustang_Susie
    Mustang_Susie Posts: 7,045 Member
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    If a kid has a BMI of 40+, the parents need to be taking the blame instead of putting it on the boy scouts.

    Agree.
    My question is, how many 40+ BMI kids WANT to go to the Jamboree with the express understanding of and desire to participate in the aforementioned strenuous activities?
    I'm thinking not too many...
    But BSA still needs to cover their legal bases irregardless.
  • moosegt35
    moosegt35 Posts: 1,296 Member
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    his topic must have died down on facebook. No one seems to be up in arms anymore.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
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    his topic must have died down on facebook. No one seems to be up in arms anymore.

    I'm sorry... were there not enough controversial topics trending this morning for you to find someone to argue with? You had to hunt down the ones that have died that you didn't actually get locked?

    You know, there is a group for this, right?
  • moosegt35
    moosegt35 Posts: 1,296 Member
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    his topic must have died down on facebook. No one seems to be up in arms anymore.

    I'm sorry... were there not enough controversial topics trending this morning for you to find someone to argue with? You had to hunt down the ones that have died that you didn't actually get locked?

    You know, there is a group for this, right?

    I haven't looked yet. I also wasn't aware that I was responsible for getting topics locked.
  • DrunkenFaeGirl
    DrunkenFaeGirl Posts: 107
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    Just another reason why my family doesn't support the Boy Scouts at all.
  • karendee4
    karendee4 Posts: 558 Member
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    Deleted my comment....
  • moosegt35
    moosegt35 Posts: 1,296 Member
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    Just another reason why my family doesn't support the Boy Scouts at all.

    becasue of logical safety precautions? Makes sense.
  • mattschwartz01
    mattschwartz01 Posts: 566 Member
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    Just another reason why my family doesn't support the Boy Scouts at all.

    becasue of logical safety precautions? Makes sense.

    There is nothing logical about it. The Boy and Girl Scouts of America are supposed to be about helping youth develop leadership skills. Banning participation in a jamboree doesn't help an overweight child's self esteem. Wouldn't it be better if the boy scouts could teach nutrition and instill physical activity? This is a reason I don't support the Boy Scouts too. Inclusion is always better than exclusion because there is nothing to stop the scouts from maybe having a jamboree tailored to the needs of the overweight scout wanting desperately to lose weight. As anyone on here can attest to, being overweight is both a mental and physical issue.
  • moosegt35
    moosegt35 Posts: 1,296 Member
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    Just another reason why my family doesn't support the Boy Scouts at all.

    becasue of logical safety precautions? Makes sense.

    There is nothing logical about it. The Boy and Girl Scouts of America are supposed to be about helping youth develop leadership skills. Banning participation in a jamboree doesn't help an overweight child's self esteem. Wouldn't it be better if the boy scouts could teach nutrition and instill physical activity? This is a reason I don't support the Boy Scouts too. Inclusion is always better than exclusion because there is nothing to stop the scouts from maybe having a jamboree tailored to the needs of the overweight scout wanting desperately to lose weight. As anyone on here can attest to, being overweight is both a mental and physical issue.

    So the kids who aren't "overweight", which isn't a good term since we are talking about morbidly obese here (40+ BMI) that can't participate, should be punished and not allowed to do their event because people who aren't safely capable of doing it are excluded? That sounds fair. This is ONE event in the whole year.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
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    Just another reason why my family doesn't support the Boy Scouts at all.

    becasue of logical safety precautions? Makes sense.

    There is nothing logical about it. The Boy and Girl Scouts of America are supposed to be about helping youth develop leadership skills. Banning participation in a jamboree doesn't help an overweight child's self esteem. Wouldn't it be better if the boy scouts could teach nutrition and instill physical activity? This is a reason I don't support the Boy Scouts too. Inclusion is always better than exclusion because there is nothing to stop the scouts from maybe having a jamboree tailored to the needs of the overweight scout wanting desperately to lose weight. As anyone on here can attest to, being overweight is both a mental and physical issue.

    So the kids who aren't "overweight", which isn't a good term since we are talking about morbidly obese here (40+ BMI) that can't participate, should be punished and not allowed to do their event because people who aren't safely capable of doing it are excluded? That sounds fair. This is ONE event in the whole year.

    Oh good... I see you found someone to argue with. Yay!

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