Boy Scouts ban obese kids from Jamboree

How big would a kid have to be to have a BMI over 40?

huge! There is really a relatively small number of boys excluded based on BMI. There is a much larger number of adults that are excluded by these standards.

I have a love/hate relationship with the BSA. I have 2 boys in Scouting, both started at the Tiger level so 9 years of Scouting under our belts to date. On the local level I have nothing but kudos for our troop leadership. They challenge, teach, and make our boys aware of themselves, what they can accomplish, and the world they live in. They have learned leadership skills, teamwork, respect, how to be charitable, and had a ton of fun over the years.

However on the National level they make my blood boil! Yay [small clapping sound] gay scouts can still be scouts but after you've run through the program and maybe even achieved Eagle Scout status you are no longer allowed to be a part of the organization. Your journey and leadership skills learned in the BSA are not welcome to be passed on and teach to up and coming Scouts. All because your "gayness" might wear off on them. BULL****! The issue with BMI falling within certain parameters is yet another failing of the BSA.

I have just filled out the required camp health forms for my boys and did notice there is a big emphasis on BMI and if your child meets the requirements or not. Of my 2 sons one does struggle with weight issues. He makes the cut but for how long? He's 12yrs old, weighs 169lbs, is 5' 2", with a BMI of 30. Of course we are working with his pediatrician to make him healthier (and don't think I don't have guilt for letting him get that heavy, I do) but you have to walk a fine line with a child this young in terms of weight loss and how you approach it. For the BSA to mandate a limit on participation based on BMI is ludicrous! Only a boys doctor should be the one to say whether that child is capable of the activity (just like in school sports). And summer camp and jamboree are nothing like the high adventure base camps. All scouts should have the ability to participate either full on or self modified to their fitness level. My heavier son fully participates in each (he is too young for high adventure base camp). I would give the exception to the high adventure camps as they are very rigorous but that does not mean a "fat kid" is not capable of the experience. I don't think they should alter their programs but they should let the child (with doctors approval) attempt to meet the challenges set before them at the various camps.

So Boo on you BSA. You are creating the exact opposite environment that your Boy Scout Laws purport. Scouting is about the boys & the experience not about the political climate and judgements against people. Sorry, long rant. [slowly slides soapbox back under bed].

Nope, everyone is supposed to be equal in America. Let the morbidly obese kids do it too that way their parents can complain and sue when they either can't complete the activity and get embarrased or actually get hurt.

There was a diplomatic way around this that didn't have to exclude or shame the children, but rather, encourage them to better themselves.

Positive reinforcement is a very productive way to motivate people and address issues as a society.

QTF and

I know a lot of people are upset by this article. I see it as a reality check. If there are really enough kids/adults involved with the BSA that are morbidly obese to prompt this extreme of a policy, it proves there is an obesity epidemic in the US. Like we didn't already know this. I do feel sorry for the people the BMI doesn't work for, but I would hope that with common sense and doctor's approvals proper exceptions were made. My boyfriend is quite tall and was a little chubby in high school, but he was definitely not obese. The BMI works best for median height people.

But, lets be honest with ourselves, kids should not be carrying around 100 lbs or more of extra weight. Let this be a wake up call America. I mean aren't we all on this site because we want to be healthier people? It might be an unpopular opinion, but I think society does need to call people out who blatantly live unhealthy lifestyles. We do with smoking, drinking, and sex. So why not eating and exercising? What saddens me the most is parents who allow their young children to become so terribly unhealthy. That is not right. That is what people should be outraged about.

If they were really concerned about the health of the kids, wouldn't they add more activities that all can enjoy so the kids are actually getting out and BEING active?
What a messed up organization..

I completely agree. If they want to help improve the kids' health, then design activities that they can do and get some exercise.

That will generally happen at the local level. Troops can opt for doing physical activities. The program at the troop level is designed, planned and executed by the boys themselves. The activities a troop participates in varies greatly rfom troop to troop. In my troop, the boys like to do physically active things. We hike, we climb, we canoe and this weekend we will be kayaking on the MIssissippi. Every meeting we have some physically active game. Our next meeting we wil be having a picnic dinner at a local park and will be playing ultimate, kickball, gaga pit, and soccer for 3.5 hours.

I know of a troop that is just down the road from us, that does nothing physical. They will have fun nights where the boys sit and play video games all night. They have lock-ins vs. campouts. The kids rarely if ever do anything physical. When they go to summer camp for 1 week, the kids have trouble walking from one end of the camp to the other. They can't take the high temps, and humidity, and seem more susceptible to heat stress from small exertions.

Jamboree is not a longer summer camp. There are activities such as white water rafting, miles of zip lines through the tree canopy, rock climbing, scuba diving. It is designed to give scouts a sampling of bigger and better things than you can get at a local summer camp. When I think about taking a scout who may be pretty inert most of the year, and dropping him or her into a 5 mile long zip line course, I would have my doubts if that is the best way to start them off in physical activity. I'm not surprised that the insurance companies raise their premiums with the litigation happy public, and the sedentary lifestyle some of these boys lead.

This isn't excluding "fat" kids. A BMI of 40 is morbidly obese. So yes, their hearts actually could explode out of their chest. For a boy scout age kid to have a BMI of 40 they would basically have to be as big around as they are tall or even bigger. It's probably dangerous for them to do the activity.

How many obese children have heart attacks? Im genuinely curious - i didn't know there was an epidemic of morbidly obese children having their chests explode.

Not sure it's an "epidemic" but with the huge increase in childhood obesity comes a huge increase in the risk.

Oh so because they are morbidly obese they should be discouraged to do anything physically demanding? Thats ridiculous, ive seen morbidly obese people do amazing things when given the chance and to not allow these kids to have a chance and possibly wanting to be physically fit next year because they couldnt do something this year to the best of their ability is ridiculous.

Are there really "very fit but muscular" kids with a BMI over 40?

I do agree that I would rather see modifications and a physical assessment required than a banning.

How big would a kid have to be to have a BMI over 40?

morbidly obese. Like dangerously overweight.

Most of the time, true. But a blanket ban just on attending?

In 1987 I weighed 280 pounds at 5"10". I played football and wrestled. I ran 4 miles every day before practice and went on to walk on to division 1 college football team. That summer before my senior year, I went to a High Adventure camp and backpacked 50 miles in the N.C. mountains.

Based on those numbers, my BMI was 41.5. I would have been banned from a freaking jamboree.

I definitely needed to lose some weight, but it in no way hindered me from participating and usually performing above average.

Apples don't look or taste like oranges bro. You are comparing an adult athlete to a boy scout kid. Kids in boyscouts aren't built like athletes, they are built like kids.

This isn't necessarily true. Boy scouts goes from age 10-18. Venturing scouts from 14-21. My Assistant Senior Patrol Leader os very athletic. He and his father are both into cross-fit. When we play games or race in our meetings, I am usually coming in second to him in everything. He also took me down hard lastnight in a game we were playing. However, he is nowhere near a BMI of 40. Not even close.

This isn't excluding "fat" kids. A BMI of 40 is morbidly obese. So yes, their hearts actually could explode out of their chest. For a boy scout age kid to have a BMI of 40 they would basically have to be as big around as they are tall or even bigger. It's probably dangerous for them to do the activity.

How many obese children have heart attacks? Im genuinely curious - i didn't know there was an epidemic of morbidly obese children having their chests explode.

Not sure it's an "epidemic" but with the huge increase in childhood obesity comes a huge increase in the risk.

Oh so because they are morbidly obese they should be discouraged to do anything physically demanding? Thats ridiculous, ive seen morbidly obese people do amazing things when given the chance and to not allow these kids to have a chance and possibly wanting to be physically fit next year because they couldnt do something this year to the best of their ability is ridiculous.

The way I read it it's a little more than "physically demanding". I mean, the thing is on an army base, right? I am not saying they shouldn't do physical activity and they aren't banned from boy scouts, just this event.

This isn't excluding "fat" kids. A BMI of 40 is morbidly obese. So yes, their hearts actually could explode out of their chest. For a boy scout age kid to have a BMI of 40 they would basically have to be as big around as they are tall or even bigger. It's probably dangerous for them to do the activity.

How many obese children have heart attacks? Im genuinely curious - i didn't know there was an epidemic of morbidly obese children having their chests explode.

Not sure it's an "epidemic" but with the huge increase in childhood obesity comes a huge increase in the risk.

Oh so because they are morbidly obese they should be discouraged to do anything physically demanding? Thats ridiculous, ive seen morbidly obese people do amazing things when given the chance and to not allow these kids to have a chance and possibly wanting to be physically fit next year because they couldnt do something this year to the best of their ability is ridiculous.

The way I read it it's a little more than "physically demanding". I mean, the thing is on an army base, right? I am not saying they shouldn't do physical activity and they aren't banned from boy scouts, just this event.

From what I read its not just a physical even though, and maybe it is super friggin demanding but why not let them try? There are medical staff everywhere for the other kids and its not like they cant stop and catch their breath right? I just think this is spreading a message of lethargy to obese people in general. They dont take it as "well guess i should lose weight if i wanna be involved." They take it as an excuse you can only motivate yourself and i believe these kids need to be motivated through their own actions.