February 05, 2010

TMI BMI

"I'll give you guys your own monument if you show me a good place
to hide the Halloween candy from Michelle."
Photo: Obama-Biden Transition Project

Politics aside, you’ve got to admire the way Michelle Obama keeps those arms of hers so firm and toned. All the better to throw her daughters under the BMI bus with. I’m referring to last week’s news about her getting a “wake-up call” from her daughters’ pediatrician about their BMIs sneaking up on them and her taking corrective action. And for a parent who pleaded with the media to respect her daughters’ privacy (and rightfully so), I found it shocking that in her efforts to tackle the childhood obesity problem, she would reach into her own family fold to underscore her point.

I posted on “Generation BMI” back in November and there was some excellent commentary that followed. Upon researching further, I learned that experts generally have the opinion that girls who develop eating disorders do so between ages eleven and fourteen. The eldest Obama child is eleven. Imagine being an adolescent on such an international stage in the first place. Do you remember the confusing mix of emotions when you were that age? The desire to fit in and the self-consciousness of your every move? It’s bad enough to have to grow up in the public eye where people are scrutinizing everything you do, but when your mother calls you out about your BMI, well, that’s just a boatload of therapy waiting to happen.

I’ll grant you that childhood obesity is a serious problem but I don’t think using your children as examples on the world stage is the way to go. Yes, it personalizes your passion but let’s remember that these children never signed up for this fishbowl existence in the first place. That was their parents’ decision and they would do well to keep their girls as sheltered as possible. But now that the BMI genie is out of the bottle, the cute vacation scenes of the First Family going out for ice cream will take on a whole different meaning. “Dear, are you sure you should be eating that?” Please tell me that’s never going to happen.

I leave open the possibility that I’m just getting crankier in my old age and most of you won’t see a thing wrong with this. I believe that open dialogue is a good thing against bad problems but I wish adults would leave their children out of mature matters until they’re old enough to make their own decision on whether or not they want to be involved; especially when it’s on such a personal level. Looking out for our children's well-being is every parent’s responsibility - and that goes for their fragile little psyches, too.

What do you think? Should Mama Obama keep the family BMI to herself or are the daughters fair game in this childhood obesity battle?

37 comments:

  1. Oh no! That's TMI. I know that she's trying to make a point and to connect with other people, but seriously, she should leave her girls out of it. They're too young, this is too stressful, it's too sensitive of an issue, it's too public... it's just too much. Some things should just stay personal. I mean, how would Michelle Obama feel if she were them? I'm pretty damn sure she wouldn't be happy.

    I'm sorry, but this really annoys me - parents who complain about the media in their children's lives and then blabber all this info to the media when it suits them. UGH!

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  2. I'm on the fence. While I acknowledge the real life pitfalls of public scrutiny and hurt feelings, my dearest wish is that we could look at BMI as just one statistic in the overall picture of health, like blood pressure. It's an indicator, a flawed one, it really should not be a dark secret or an assessment of character. I would bet that Mrs Obama is not terribly worried the girls are going to get fat-- like most of us mothers, she's keeping an eye on it, and she's openly admitting she's keeping an eye on it. Is that so awful? I don't think so.

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  3. If you see pictures of her daughters they are obviously thin and don't have a weight problem. Who knows if she is telling the truth about their BMI or not, but I think it was a safe way for her to introduce that small changes can make a difference-and making it personal keeps it less preachy on her part. If her children were chubby or obviously overweight I do think it would be TMI, but I think it was her way to make her recommendations in a way that would make her more relatable. I don't really think it's wrong (but not right either)-I honestly think it's not true (the BMI issue) and she probably-hopefully- had a talk with both daughters before hand so they would know what she was saying and why.

    My friend and I are both overweight-my daughter is not her daughter is. I'm sure if I were to give her advice on her daughter she would not be receptive to it at all. BUT if I said my daughter was gaining weight and I was concerned about it she would be very open to talk about the issues she is having and what she is doing to help her. No one wants to be preached at-and I think that's why Michelle Obama related the BMI issue to her children.

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  4. I generally think the BMI is not a very accurate indicator of much of anything. And those children do not look even remotely overweight. I wish she hadn't gone there. Especially considering what you said about the ages that girls develop eating disorders. Yikes.

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  5. I admire the Obama's as parents and I'm really surprised by this. It does seem like she made an error in judgment.

    The BMI isn't always the best indicator of health anyway. Recently I saw a report that said according to the BMI charts, Tom Cruise and LeBron James are both obese. LOL! If they are obese, sign me up.

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  6. It's personal info. None of our business.

    I hope Mama Obama at least asked her daughter's permission before dishing the information. The number may not be a big deal, but it's still private.

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  7. I think Gina has a good point. If the child were involved, then this becomes a 'going public trying to be helpful' kind of thing.
    If Mama Obama is doing this to her child, well, it would probably give me food issues. Maybe her daughter is stronger.

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  8. I'm wondering if she's telling them something different off camera and just using this as an opportunity to bring up "public health". At least I hope so.

    Also, BMI is a terrible indicator. I'm on the high end of the healthy weight range, but when I had my body fat tested I'm in technically "underfat". If I was in the normal body fat range, I'd be overweight.

    They should really do a different test for physical fitness; something that gauges how long you'd REALLY last running away from zombies.

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  9. They are public figures. And in this post-Clinton-DNA-on-Dress era, I'm not sure how much "I" is TMI anymore. Obesity is a health concern, and there is increasing public awareness about it. While the BMI may not be the most accurate measurement, it can set a good example. As long as people don't get crazy about it and go to the other extreme.

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  10. Love the zombie test! And I bet the girls would probably do fine on it.

    I'm really disappointed by this. Not only for the intrusiveness and possible damage to the kids themselves, but also for reinforcing the message that for little girls, you can never worry enough about their weight.

    Yes, obesity is a public health issue, but so are eating disorders and low self-esteem. If society weren't already so screwed up about women and the importance of their superficial apppearance it might not be a problem, but society IS screwed up about it. There are a million other ways to promote exercise and healthy eating besides openly fretting over your girls' BMI's.

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  11. As a Mom to two girls who was obese as a child and remains as an adult, I would say that BMI is a concern. We do have to worry about our children's health.

    My oldest, who is by far not overweight, has started talking about being fat. She doesn't get this from home. I don't talk about being overweight or fat. I exercise and eat healthy so they can model that from me. I have her in physical activities and team sports so she can learn to make fitness a part of her everyday life.

    I think the Obamas have a right to restrict the use of their girls; especially by the media and business profiting from the girls' image--like those dolls that came out after the inauguration. The girls aren't fair game for the public to attack or profit from, but if the Obamas want to discuss a National concern and want to relay how they are addressing their issues with their daughters, then I think she is doing a great service to draw attention.

    I would say that we would also be critical of the Obamas if she took on the issue of childhood BMIs and never relayed information on how they are tackling it as a family.

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  12. You know, whether or not BMI is a good measure of obesity doesn't matter. In all of the obesity epidemic talk, there's talk of BMI, so it's implied high BMI = fat. And that's what her girls will hear. The fact is, her kids aren't fat. There's no need to hold them up as an example. Like you said, they didn't ask to be in the spotlight. And now not only are they in the spotlight but they're there for one of the most mortifying things tween and teen girls can experience, being called different/fat.

    There are other ways to get the message across.

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  13. I don't think she should have said anything about her daughter's BMI; however, giving ideas of what foods they eat is setting a good example that people might follow.

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  14. I cringed when I heard this news, can you imagine how embarrassed her girls are? TMI indeed.

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  15. Yeah, that really did bother me. Michelle, I love you and all, but FFS there are some things you do not need to blab to the entire world.

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  16. One of the (many) things that bothers me about this is that they're talking about the BMI (a hugely flawed measure) of children who haven't even finished puberty yet. So many kids grow out before they grow up, or vice versa, so how could BMI possibly be useful at that age (even if it were useful at other ages?) I'm so disappointed in Mrs. Obama for taking this non-issue as her campaign of choice.

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  17. I haven't seen/read anything about this, but I agree that it seems wrong. Unless, as others have said, it was merely a strategy to open the discussion and she talked to her daughters about it so far. Even then though...Does anyone really need to be exposed to that kind of media attention? Especially a child. I would worry about the effect it was going to have on them.

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  18. I have to really think about this one, thanks for posting!!

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  19. Poor girl! That is just embarrassing. It'd be bad enough for a mother to mention something like that at a family bbq, but to the entire country? Not very kind.

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  20. If she wants to use her family as a role model to connect to people, I think she could just as easily point out how her family strives to eat healthfully and exercise regularly (while actually doing so, of course) without getting so personal.

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  21. I am with Gretchen...puberty does a number on girls' bodies. My 2 daughters, for example, both had a "fireplug" body stage during the years 10-12..Almost overnight, after those ages, they grew a few inches, got active in middle school sports, and shed that fireplug body in no time. I look back at pictures of me at that age...and it was the exact same thing. My girls are both adult women, in great shape, and both exercise a lot, eat healthy 90% of the time and believe in treats! (As I do.)

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  22. I've been saying this for a long time now - if my kids (future possibility children - none currently) ever start to get chunky/overweight, they will go on a diet but THEY WILL NEVER EVER KNOW. Kids should not have that burden on them. Generally, if kids are overweight it's the fault of the parents feeding them - not the kids themselves. My kids diet may change, but they will never know that's its associated with anything to do with their bodies.

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  23. I've been saying this for a long time now - if my kids (future possibility children - none currently) ever start to get chunky/overweight, they will go on a diet but THEY WILL NEVER EVER KNOW. Kids should not have that burden on them. Generally, if kids are overweight it's the fault of the parents feeding them - not the kids themselves. My kids diet may change, but they will never know that's its associated with anything to do with their bodies.

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  24. The Obama girls will probably never have a weight problem. It's not in their genes. But given what Michelle has done, I wouldn't be surprised if we find out (possibly many years after the fact)that one or both of the girls had an eating disorder at some point in time (bulimia or anorexia).

    I am a great admirer of the Obamas, but I think Michelle has made a terrible mistake.

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  25. When my daughter was 11, the pediatrician told her she was too high on the growth chart for her weight. She proceeded to tell her she was in danger of getting diabetes, blah, blah, blah. I saw my daughter sink...she was in a panick, worried she had diabetes. All of the self esteem I had tried to instill in her was out. the. door. Many talks and conversations later, she's at a healthy place and the young woman hormones have settled and she's at a very healthy weight. I don't think you should ever make an example of your young daughter. They are much too fragile at that time of life. Just teach healthy habits and live them yourself.

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  26. I have to wonder if she talked with her girls about going public first. I had not heard this story so I don't know about it but they seem like a family that talks about things from my outside perspective.

    Although BMI gets mixed reviews, it still is one indicator & we should pay attention to it along with other risk factors.

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  27. I think everyone is making way too much fuss about this. The Obamas seem like reasonable, responsible parents, from what I've observed, and having worked in the health care industry before, I'm guessing Mrs. O is knowledgable in this area to some degree. I think many of us (myself included) who have/had weight issues, either as an child or an adult, probably personalize the weight issue more than is rational. Just my 2-cents...

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  28. My first thought on reading about the BMI comment was "What?!? Those girls are skinny!" But of course BMI is a horrible indicator of health. I don't really see an issue with her bringing it up - as long as the point is "we must be vigilant to our children's health - not to put them on a diet, but to help them learn that healthy activities (like playing outside) are fun too." There are many ways children become over weight and just as many to deal with them. Sticking them on a diet is not the only option, nor is ridiculing their choices. Dragging them outside to play and go on hikes etc etc is a healthy alternative that shouldn't focus so much on the child as to increase her chances of an eating disorder. I don't think Michelle ever said she threw the BMI's in the kid's faces and said "no more cookies!"

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  29. I agree that she should not be discussing the weight of her children with the world.

    First of all, those are young, healthy girls who are growing up and it can be very detrimental to their physical development to restrict their calories at this age.

    Not to mention their overall well-being when they are growing up as the President's daughters (remember Chelsea?) so let's leave them out of public discussion. The public in general is a bunch of a**holes and those girls do not need that.

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  30. I think you made the point pretty well! It's not only TMI, its a really insensitive thing to do to your kids, and we all know BMI is bunk anyway. The Obama girls are young, precious, and just seem like nice kids. Why start feeding them the old body dysmorphia pudding so early? If their mom thinks they need to focus on being healthier, she should bring it up with them privately.

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  31. One doesn't need to -- and, frankly, I think one should not -- share a child's BMI. Maybe not even with the child. That is such a critical time for developing one's self image.

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  32. I'm late to the party.

    But I AGREE with Gigi.

    And ALSO: BMI is a flawed measurement to use with ADULTS, but absolutely HORRIBLE to use on CHILDREN.

    Some kids get a little pudgy before a growth spurt.

    Look at Barack's photos from childhood--he was a tad chunky in a few. And look at him now.

    Usually, I'm cool with Michelle Obama, but this is really uncool of her.

    Also, apologies if I'm repeating something already said--I didn't read ALL the comments THOROUGHLY.

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  33. I struggled with weight gain and health issues. I found that my kids helped motivate me to get fit. Fitness and wellness should be free and accessible to everyone. I created a site dedicated to this.

    Open my site in the same page
    www.getfitstayingfit.com

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  34. Okay - I actually read the article you're referring to and I don't think that anything was wrong with her statements. She was saying that her kids USED to have some indicators of BMI issues from the family doc...she doesn't say when this happened. For all we know it could've been years ago and the reason that her kids look healthy now is because she took action by promoting healthy behaviors.

    I don't think that she did anything wrong - in fact, I applaud her for being able to relate to parents these days.

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  35. I think she should just keep it within the family. I know I'd hate for everyone to know my BMI if I were at that girl's age. Fighting child obesity with her own daughter as an example is too much. Especially when the numbers are revealed.

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  36. I think being a part of a famous family is hard enough. I don't think the Obama's should really be sharing this information with the world.

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  37. I saw part of the interview. The message was about good behaviors, and that it's NO LONGER A CONCERN because of changes that are easy to incorporate and can become habits. Why would an issue that has been overcome be an embarassment. As another poster said, it's easier to start the dialog by using personal examples. Keep it up, Mrs Obama!

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