Some six months ago, at a school board meeting, I raised the issue of BMI (body mass index) data collection by the school system. Subsequently, I wrote about the possible consequences that could flow from such data collection; separate school lunch lines, denial of services and possible penalties for parents of children identified as too heavy or too thin. No doubt many thought my concerns were the fevered imaginings of a far right conspiracy theorist; a charter member of the vast right wing conspiracy. Would that it were so!

Now we learn that children are being denied health insurance on the basis of their BMI. Rocky Mountain Health Plans recently denied insurance to four month old Alex Lange because, according to his growth chart, he was too heavy. United Health Care, on the other hand, would not insure two year old Aislin Bates because, at twenty two pounds, she is regarded as too thin.

What will happen when the federal government is calling the health care tune. Will federal agents be removing children from their homes and placing them in “rehabilitation centers” to correct their unhealthy eating habits?

In 2006 the geniuses in Albany passed legislation requiring every school child in the state of New York to have their BMI (body mass index) calculated and reported to the state. The purpose of this data collection is unstated. The eventual use of this data is unknown.

At its June 2nd meeting Dr. Adrienne Weiss announced with great pride that New Rochelle had been “selected” to participate in this study. What an honor! It would be nice to think that before they popped the champagne corks over at City Hall they might actually understand what BMI does and does not measure and then perhaps even realize that BMI is an utterly pointless statistic when applied to individuals.

To get a better understanding of just how stupid the BMI is as a measure of the fitness of a particular individual consider the following:

While local and state governments throughout the country are reducing spending, cutting programs and laying off employees, the largest going concern in New Rochelle continues to increase spending, grow programs and add employees - the City School District of New Rochelle.

Tax Bill Appeals Take Rising Toll on Governments , the lead article in the July 4th edition of the New York Times describes the problem of falling tax revenues resulting from falling house values and assessments across the entire country. Seventy six percent of large counties report adverse effects on their county budgets. Although ten percent of large counties have raised their tax rates to compensate for falling assessments, most local governments are “laying off workers, renegotiating labor contracts, freezing salaries and cutting services”.

According to The Times:

On Wednesday, June 15, 2009 over 600 New Rochelle High School students will march in a graduation ceremony and receive -- an empty folder. One of the school district's "dirty little secrets" is that none of the students marching tomorrow will actually receive a diploma because many of the students marching will not have earned a diploma but are being allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony anyway. Rather than damage their self-esteem or cause them to feel less important than those who actually earned a diploma, they are being allowed to participate based on a "promise" that at some point after June they will complete missing courses and pass required state exams. Based on the New York State Report Cards, no one is keeping track of how many students march in the graduation and then failed to make good this "promise".