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Esther Wojcicki

Esther Wojcicki, Board Member
A 2007 Walt Clarkson Memorial Award for Excellence in Advising winner, Esther Wojcicki teaches journalism at Palo Alto High School, in Palo Alto, California. In 2002, Esther was named California Teacher of the Year. She has written for several different publications, including The Los Angeles Times and Time magazine and has been the recipient of numerous awards.

Childhood Obesity

New York, May 29, 2007— In an effort to combat childhood obesity, many schools are now measuring students' Body Mass Index (BMI) and sending letters home to the parents of children whose BMIs indicate they are at risk of being or are already overweight. In an informal online poll that took place in March through May, 2007, visitors to TeachersCount.org were asked their opinion on the practice of BMI notification.

A total of 246 respondents, 111 of whom described themselves as educators, participated in the poll. Overall, 23.6% said they believed schools should combat childhood obesity and that BMI notification is a very effective tactic. An additional 26.8% agreed that schools should combat childhood obesity and said that BMI notification is a somewhat effective tactic.

However, the practice has its detractors as well. 36.6% of the poll’s respondents said that while schools should combat childhood obesity, BMI notification is not an effective means of doing so. An additional 8.9% did not believe that schools should combat childhood obesity at all. 4.1% were undecided on the issue.

While stating that schools should combat obesity but that BMI notification was not effective was the single most chosen answer by both educators (43.2%) and non-educators (31.1%), there were nonetheless sizeable discrepancies between the responses of the two groups. Nearly 60% of non-educators said BMI notification was very or somewhat effective, while just over 40% of educators said the same.

Conversely, educators were much more likely than non-educators to have explicitly negative views of the practice. 54.9% of educators said that BMI notification was ineffective or that schools should not combat obesity at all, while only 37.8% of non-educators selected one of these responses.

The poll invited respondents to comment, and many of them did. Below is a sampling of comments arranged by response.

“I believe that schools should combat childhood obesity and that BMI notification is a very effective tactic.”—23.6%
  • “As a science educator, I encounter the misconceptions children have about the world around us. It is far harder to re-teach than to teach it properly the first time. Let's teach our children what to eat and how to exercise!”
  • “I was an obese child and it had a dramatic effect on my childhood and education. No child wants to be obese, but many do not have the parents and support they need to tackle this health crisis. As a teacher, it is our responsibility to do what is best for children and not just teach standards.”
“I believe that schools should combat childhood obesity and that BMI notification is a somewhat effective tactic.” —26.8%
  • “I believe that it is the parent's job to know the health of their children. The BMI notification may be a useful tool, but that's it. It's up to the parents to use it.”
  • “Schools send mixed messages to kids about diet and whole health. The soda machines, the candy sales, and the items for sale offered in the cafeteria are a real problem. These junk food items only promote obesity and other health and motivational problems.”
“I believe that schools should combat childhood obesity but that BMI notification is not an effective tactic.” —36.6%
  • “Physical activity is the most effective tool in fighting childhood obesity.”
  • “The way for schools to help combat childhood obesity is to serve healthy food in the cafeteria and eliminate soda/snack machines in the school. If the unhealthy choices aren't there, children will eat the healthy food.”
  • “This is something that should be done by a physician, not the school.”
“I do not believe that schools should combat childhood obesity.”—8.9%
  • “In a perfect world, schools could fix everything that goes awry in a child's life: poverty, abuse, neglect, behavior, and health. But it's not a perfect world, and parents have to take responsibility for their children. Schools are expected to deal with far too much as it is.”
  • "Parents are the ones who allow their children to eat hot cheetos for breakfast. Their children are THEIR responsibility!"