Earlier this month, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his intentions to support a bill outlawing the sale of junk food in schools. Science shows the governor is right to worry about an obesity crisis, but banning candy is schools is like putting a Band-Aid on a third-degree burn. According to the American Obesity Association, “approximately 127 million adults in the U.S. are overweight, 60 million obese, and 9 million severely obese.”
And of course, also missing from the whole thing is the trend at some schools to try to 'improve' grades, by eliminating other things, like Physical Education courses. Of course, it doesn't help at all that PE, at least at my school was more dedicated to letting the coaches pick out the small handful of exceptional or at least potentially useful students, from the athletically inept. Yep, real useful to try to 'educate' people about how to stay healthy by caterring to people that will make good basket ball, football, track, etc. people.... Bloody stupid. What they 'should' do is have some basic martial arts like course for 'everyone', which doesn't involve punishing students that play badly or letting them walk around the track, while the 'good' students play sports. Let them find some other way to find the best students for sports and actually provide real physical education. But above all else, **keep the damn PE courses**. Even ones that suck up to the sports couches are better than not having them at all. Yep, taking all that junk food out of the schools will do so much good, combined with the same school teaching their kids nothing but how to sit on their asses for eight hours a day and not exercise at at.
Your article seems to indicate that obesity if a fault rather than a condition. will the next step be to denie obese persons health insurance coverage for related health problems? You view is simplistic without consideration for the way in which our culture encourages obesity. I find it offensive. . . Claire
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Obesity Matters
Posted by: Sonia Arrison March 18, 2005 05:00 AMEarlier this month, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his intentions to support a bill outlawing the sale of junk food in schools. Science shows the governor is right to worry about an obesity crisis, but banning candy is schools is like putting a Band-Aid on a third-degree burn. According to the American Obesity Association, “approximately 127 million adults in the U.S. are overweight, 60 million obese, and 9 million severely obese.”
Yep, taking all that junk food out of the schools will do so much good, combined with the same school teaching their kids nothing but how to sit on their asses for eight hours a day and not exercise at at.