You know what’s worse than having someone make assumptions about your heath and fitness based on your weight or BMI? Being told you can’t do something, achieve something, participate in something. You know what’s worse than that? Having that happen when you’re a kid.
And yet that’s just what’s happened to fat Boy Scouts who hoped to attend this year’s national jamboree, which starts tomorrow in West Virginia. Apparently the jamboree is going to be physically demanding, with the entire thing taking place “on foot.” There’s going to be stuff like rock climbing, hiking, biking, rappelling, ziplining, skateboarding. All things that, if you’re a kid over a certain height/weight ratio, you shouldn’t be allowed to try. (Seriously, if the event is so physically demanding, maybe tone it down a bit, make it more inclusive? I mean, aren’t there disabled Boy Scouts? No? Okay, carry on.)
The boys always go through fitness assessments prior to attending a jamboree, but this year, the BMI cut-off was introduced… which stopped some obese scouts from even applying to attend. Can you imagine the heartbreak of these kids, who just wanted to go have fun and learn some new skills, believing they shouldn’t even bother to apply? Who knows if they could have passed the assessments – some of them probably could. (And I’m also willing to bet there were some thin Boy Scouts who struggled to pass, but I’m sure the Boy Scouts of America, like everyone else in the world, believes the fallacy of thin = healthy no matter what.)
I was a Girl Scout for many years. I hiked, I built fires, I did ropes courses, I swam. Heck, I even did one of those trust falls where you fall into the arms of your friends. And – sit down for this one – I was fat. Here’s a picture of me and my best friend at Girl Scout camp in the summer of 1983:
You might look at this picture and say, “You’re not fat!” But if you look closely, you’ll see that I’m quite a bit bigger than my friend. (I’m also already showcasing that one part of my body I still have trouble with loving, that above-the-waist fat roll. Hello, old friend!)
When I think back on that summer, I remember laughter, sunshine, friendship, fireflies… and even milking a goat! Even though it was thirty years ago, I still have very fond memories of that week in the woods. The one thing I don’t remember is being told I shouldn’t – or couldn’t – do something because of my size. My size was irrelevant. I was just another Girl Scout, and that was all.
There have been reports that this jamboree BMI requirement was made early enough that some Boy Scouts decided to try dieting and exercising their way to being “fit” and “healthy” enough to attend the jamboree. To that I say: ugh. You all know I’m a huge advocate of movement and healthy eating habits, but the idea of a child dieting in the hopes that his body will reach a size “acceptable” enough to attend a camping event is just ridiculous. There’s a big likelihood that some of those boys will become chronic dieters with serious food and body issues because of this.
It absolutely crushes my heart to think of the boys who won’t be attending the jamboree tomorrow, because some adults decided to discriminate against fat children, to assume that they are incapable because of a number. Who knows what those fat boys could have accomplished? Way to go, Boy Scouts of America! Is there a badge for Fat Discrimination?
