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Lawmaker Wants Teachers In Hawaii Weighed For Obesity
Teachers Union President Calls Resolution 'Offensive'
UPDATED: 10:17 am MST March 28,
2005
HONOLULU -- A state lawmaker has suggested Hawaii's public schoolteachers be forced to weigh in as part of the fight against obesity in students, KITV in Honolulu reported.
Table: State-By-State Obesity Trends
Calculator: Body Mass Index
Video: Lawmaker Wants Teachers To Weigh In
State Rep. Rida Cabanilla introduced a resolution in the house requesting that the Board of Education establish an obesity database among public schoolteachers."You cannot keep a kid to a certain standard that you yourself is not willing to keep," Cabanilla said.It's been documented that more than 20 percent of Hawaii's children are at risk, or are already overweight, according to the station. There are no statistics on teachers.The resolution calls for all public schoolteachers to weigh in every six months.The measure calls for the education and health departments to formulate an obesity standard and appropriate measures for teachers who cannot meet the standard."As a matter of fact, we should start at home, but since the legislature has no way to regulate homes, we can at least start in school," Cabanilla said. "And teachers have a lot of impact to these students."The teachers union said it agrees that teachers are at the front line when it comes to the education and health of children, but it says the resolution is misguided."I think at this point and time, the focus really needs to be on putting highly-qualified teachers in the classroom," Hawaii State Teachers Association President Roger Takabayashi said.The union defended its members as low users of the health fund system."I think it's quite offensive. I don't think it will lead us anywhere. It's not going to benefit the children necessarily," Takabayashi said.A similar resolution is being considered by the state senate.
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Table: State-By-State Obesity TrendsCalculator: Body Mass IndexVideo: Lawmaker Wants Teachers To Weigh In State Rep. Rida Cabanilla introduced a resolution in the house requesting that the Board of Education establish an obesity database among public schoolteachers."You cannot keep a kid to a certain standard that you yourself is not willing to keep," Cabanilla said.It's been documented that more than 20 percent of Hawaii's children are at risk, or are already overweight, according to the station. There are no statistics on teachers.The resolution calls for all public schoolteachers to weigh in every six months.The measure calls for the education and health departments to formulate an obesity standard and appropriate measures for teachers who cannot meet the standard."As a matter of fact, we should start at home, but since the legislature has no way to regulate homes, we can at least start in school," Cabanilla said. "And teachers have a lot of impact to these students."The teachers union said it agrees that teachers are at the front line when it comes to the education and health of children, but it says the resolution is misguided."I think at this point and time, the focus really needs to be on putting highly-qualified teachers in the classroom," Hawaii State Teachers Association President Roger Takabayashi said.The union defended its members as low users of the health fund system."I think it's quite offensive. I don't think it will lead us anywhere. It's not going to benefit the children necessarily," Takabayashi said.A similar resolution is being considered by the state senate.
Previous Stories:
- March 17, 2005: Study: Obesity May Cause U.S. Life Expectancy To Dip
- January 19, 2005: Texas Bill Proposes Adding BMI To Kids' Report Cards
- January 19, 2005: CDC Says It Miscalculated Number Of Obesity Deaths
- January 13, 2005: Vending Machine Industry Launches Anti-Obesity Program
- September 30, 2004: Report: Wide-Ranging Effort Needed To Combat Childhood Obesity
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