CLICK TO VIEW MADDY'S BLOG!

Obese Boy Scouts Not Allowed To Join Jamboree Event

Boyscouts

If you are a Boy Scout with a BMI of 32 or higher you will not be allowed to participate in The National Boy Scouts Jamboree unless you submit health information and are individually cleared for participation. Boys with a BMI of 39 or higher are barred from participation in the ten-day camp-out. The reason? Dan McCarthy, director of the BSA’s Summit Group, told the Associated Press this years summit is the most physically demanding since 1937; activities range from mountain biking and rock climbing to scuba diving and a water obstacle course,  all strenuous exercises that require physical fitness.

The Council on Size and Weight Discrimination has fired back stating: “BMI measurements are not always accurate proxies for a person’s general health, they say. There are boy scouts who are heavier than average but extremely fit and capable of strenuous physical activity. At the same time, it is patently absurd to assume that just because a boy is thin, that means he is capable of a three-mile hike up a mountain,”

When asked how many children were not allowed to participate, Scout spokesman Deron Smith told ABC News that most obese kids just didn’t bother applying. This is so sad and inappropriate; health and fitness cannot possibly be determined by something like BMI or by even looking at a person. There are many “skinny” people that could barely make it up the stairs in the NYC subway system. What are we teaching these children? We are teaching them that skinny is better.  We are segregating the bigger kids and making them feel inferior to their smaller friends.
Shame on you Boy Scouts!
Do you feel the BMI restrictions are fair and just?
More on the story HERE!
cover try 2small