Boy Scouts ban obese kids from Jamboree

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  • tedrickp
    tedrickp Posts: 1,229 Member
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    Ridiculous.

    Like I said on hoss' profile - I was an obese boy scout and I never had any problem with the activities. I had a tougher time finding a boy scout shirt that fit :laugh:

    They are excluding the people who most need this (for the fitness and camaraderie) and they are basing it off an arbitrarily set number, from an inherently flawed system.

    Are the boy scout leaders/head office subject to these same rules? :grumble:
  • Sweet_Pandora
    Sweet_Pandora Posts: 459 Member
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    This is ridiculous and discrimination in my mind. So much for helping the child obeseity epidemic!

    Basically the message is our club is not for fat kids! Nice values to exploit! NOT!

    Karen
  • JenAndSome
    JenAndSome Posts: 1,893 Member
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    Why wouldn't they just require all the kids to have a physical done prior to the Jamboree? That's what they have to do to play sports in school. Ridiculous.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,714 Member
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    Lol, well they got away with banning gays for years. Now they have something new to justify discrimination. They'll change their minds when revenue and sponsorship is pulled again, just like when it was pulled for adhering to a no gay policy.

    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
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    I follow their intentions...it's a difficult spot the organization is in...

    ...but BMI?!? C'mon...there is (IMHO) no less meaningful popular metric to determine fitness than BMI. Self-selecting seems like a much better approach. I would even rather see some kind of actual physical ability testing instead of BMI (although will acknowledge that this has its issues too).
  • ami5000psu
    ami5000psu Posts: 391 Member
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    How big would a kid have to be to have a BMI over 40?

    Roughly 225lbs at 5' 3'.

    Ah I was curious because I'm not familiar with the BMI's of kids and all the charts looked scary.
  • Gearjammer71
    Gearjammer71 Posts: 151 Member
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    This is just one more nail in BSA's coffin. They hurt themselves when they got nosey about peoples sexual preference, and now they've taken this step to alienate kids. My son wouldn't be directly excluded under this policy but some of his friends could be. I can't imagine him being okay with that.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
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    You know... they could have just created two separate programs with different levels of physical demand. Then, the kids could opt in to the program they wanted to perform, get a special badge for whichever they complete, and then the more physically demanding program would be something the kids could train and strive for the next year.
  • palarkin
    palarkin Posts: 1
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    I highly suspect this is motivated more by the BSA's fear of having to defend a law suit than it is by their desire to exclude kids. I'd be surprised to find any scout leaders who agree with this policy. However, that being said, BSA administration need to figure out a way to limit their liability while still including all boys who want to participate. I have an overweight child who loves scouts & loves his leaders. He has learned to love camping and hiking through the leaders that he looks up to. I encourage him to go on all the outings because it is such a great opportunity for exercise and it has been an immese confidence builder for him. If he were to be exclude for weight, I'm afraid he would quit and never go back out of humiliation. No one wants that!
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
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    Hey, they arent allowed to discriminate against gays anymore. Gotta exclude someone amirite?
  • moosegt35
    moosegt35 Posts: 1,296 Member
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    How big would a kid have to be to have a BMI over 40?

    morbidly obese. Like dangerously overweight.
  • hannamarie88
    hannamarie88 Posts: 231 Member
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    Boy Scouts count respect among their twelve core values. It’s time to live up to it.

    That is ridiculous. Even if they struggled it's not like their hearts would explode out of their chests. It gives them a challenge and motivates them to try harder. That would be so insulting!

    I've never been a small person -- always larger than most of my girl scouting friends. But I was in the girl scouts for 11 years and not once was something so outrageous as discouraging physical fitness applied to our activities.

    I don't know how intense the Jamboree is -- but if I ever have a son, after what they have displayed as of late, I will be sure to never let him be a Boy Scout. They really are beginning to insult their own values. Scouting is supposed to be about building confidence in yourself and building friendships with others. Learning life skills and being physically active is one of those values.

    Blech. I'm so disgusted :/
  • Sedna_51
    Sedna_51 Posts: 277 Member
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    Yeah, because obese kids need /more/ shaming and /fewer/ opportunities for outdoor fun and exercise, right?! BOOOO. And if you're going to claim it's about fitness, then be honest about it. Ban any Scout with epilepsy or asthma or diabetes or a severe allergy from coming to camp. After all, one of them could keel over on a trail somewhere too, right?
    Poor form, gentlemen. Poor form.

    (as an aside, though, I'm very happy to see so much thoughtful criticism on here. Go, MFP!)
  • moosegt35
    moosegt35 Posts: 1,296 Member
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    This is another example of well meaning, but uninformed, people doing more harm than good. If the physical challenges are really that challenging then the only reasonable way to make the determination is to require a physical fitness evaluation. BMI is going to cut out some very fit but muscular kids. That said, I don't think excluding kids from the entire event makes any sense whatsoever.

    I don't see many kids that have enough muscle mass to have a BMI of 40 and be fit. They would basically have to be built like Dwayne Johnson in order to do that and I don't think prepubescent boys have the ability to add that sort of mass.
  • bokodasu
    bokodasu Posts: 629 Member
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    You'd think they'd want to promote physical activity at all levels - but I guess not. Boy Scouts: Only For the Right Kind Of People.

    Based on BMI, my trainer would have to get special permission from his doctor to participate. But a hypothetical x-box playing sedentary out-of-shape skinny kid wouldn't. Which one would have more problems completing a strenuous physical activity? Hmmm...
  • ryry_
    ryry_ Posts: 4,966 Member
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    Just to play devil's advocate, it is quite possible this has nothing to do with obesity so much as fear of litigation. Fat kid breaks his leg, parents sue boy scouts for negligence.

    Now, someone gets hurts and parents try to sue, they have a better case to show prudent measures were taken. Everyone sues everyone now a days, and especially those with deep pockets. So they have to protect themselves from liability.
  • Val_from_OH
    Val_from_OH Posts: 447 Member
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    Unbelievable. Even if the kid's doctor says he is okay to go, BSA says no? Who do they think they are anyway?
  • besaro
    besaro Posts: 1,858 Member
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    lol boy scouts. an outdated and confused organization. reconfigure or go away.
  • TyTy76
    TyTy76 Posts: 1,761 Member
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    Just to play devil's advocate, it is quite possible this has nothing to do with obesity so much as fear of litigation. Fat kid breaks his leg, parents sue boy scouts for negligence.

    Now, someone gets hurts and parents try to sue, they have a better case to show a prudent measures were taken. Everyone sues everyone now a days, and especially those with deep pockets. So they have to protect themselves from liability.

    Skinny people can break bones too.
  • leebesstoad
    leebesstoad Posts: 1,186 Member
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    ...but BMI?!? C'mon...there is (IMHO) no less meaningful popular metric to determine fitness than BMI. Self-selecting seems like a much better approach. I would even rather see some kind of actual physical ability testing instead of BMI (although will acknowledge that this has its issues too).
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ THIS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

    There is precious little so useless than BMI being randomly used around society when it has no purpose whatsoever. There is not a competitive bodybuilder in the history of bodybuilding who would not be classified as morbidly obese according to the BMI standards. Arnold Schwarzenegger was about a BMI of 32-33 when he was winning all his titles. Really? THAT is morbidly obese?

    There have been people here on MFP asking for advice on how to lose weight quickly because their company's health plan has credits or added costs based on BMI. There are people in my office who are classified as average wheight and I'm overweight according to BMI. Looking at us, everyone would laugh at that. BMI is simply too flawed an instrument for any use whatsoever.

    Reminds me of the saying we have in my office: "Measure with micrometer, mark with chalk, cut with chainsaw".

    In other words. Stupid.

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