Arkansas' Check Our Kids Fat Plan Now in Question

ARRA Editorial: Former Gov. Mike Huckabee instituted Arkansas' plan to send home obesity report cards to warn parents of overweight kids' health risks. Arkansas was the first state to create this new program which notified parents "officially your kid is fat -- are you too stupid to know this."

Gov. Mike Beebe is questioning this plan and has said the school weigh-ins and report cards had "a lot of negative, unintended consequences" and hurt some children's self-esteem. Beebe favors letting parents drop out of the program more easily and wants the state to test children less often: "There are a lot of things schools should be doing, but there are a lot of things parents should be doing and one of them is trying to make sure their kids stay healthy."

Arkansas' program began in 2004 when the Legislature directed public schools to weigh and measure children, calculating their body-mass index (BMI), a number used to determine whether their weight is appropriate for their age. The plan was championed by the formerly obese Gov. Huckabee had dropped 110 pounds.

Since Arkansas adopted its school-based anti-obesity program, California, Florida and Pennsylvania have launched similar efforts and Huckabee has sold lots of books. Public health officials have noted a slight drop in the state's childhood obesity rate since the program began, however, the real source of the reduction could be from the many Arkansas schools who were being forced to limit access to vending machines in the schools. Schools were making a "little extra cash"by peddling high calorie candy and sodas in schools.

Rep. Keven Anderson, R-Rogers, filed a bill last week to eliminate the BMI test. Anderson questioned the effectiveness of the BMI reports and said, "At some point, the parent has got to take some responsibility for the health of their children. I don't think sending a report home saying you're in or out of the range is going to make a difference." Thank you Rep. Anderson for a bill based in a fundamental Republican belief: "the proper function of government is to do for the people those things that have to be done but cannot be done, or cannot be done as well, by individuals." Parents can weigh and monitor their own children. Parents are responsible for their health and well being not the state.

In addition to this public obesity program, former Governor Huckabee can be credited with the significant loss by Republicans in Arkansas. His actions failed to remain rooted in Republican beliefs and supported more government control, higher taxes, rewarding illegal aliens, and in this situation advocated the use of the school system and taxes to intrude further into the lives of Arkansans.

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Tags: Arkansas, education, Mike Huckabee, Obesity, ARRA