Obesity: What are we doing about it?

[ntrog8r]

So, we've had talks about the hypocrisy of overweight leaders at National, the evils of Dutch Oven cooking, and the sedentary lifestyle of the new millennium. Many have expressed their own need to lose weight. SO...

 

What are you looking at for encouraging the Scouts in your units to stay active and healthy, and maintain proper body composition? Looking for hard plans or programs you are planning on (or considering) implementing/encouraging - not more talk about the rightness or wrongness of the issue, please.

 

[CA_Scouter]

We are doing nothing. We are a small troop, backpacking oriented, and thus far have not had any overweight or significantly out of shape youth. We also have mostly 14-17 yr olds at this time and all the guys are pretty active.

 

We've scaled down the length of our Oct trip a little to accomodate the our 3 11 yr olds, but 2 of them have already been on a trip and did ok.

 

If we were to have several out of shape crossovers next year, we'd probably work with them diligently on their fitness requirements in the Tenderfoot rank and put on some skillbases on diet, exercise, etc.. Mebbe do some extra day hikes to get them rolling...

 

[ChaiAdventure]

All we are doing already exists as part of the program (e.g. fitness requirements, food triangles, etc.). We don't have much of a problem with overweight scouts....just some of the leaders....

[ntrog8r]

So at least for the most part, your Scouts are fit and able to live Teddy's "Strenous Life" ideal now. BW, I always love to hear there's a backpacking Trop out there.

 

Based on the lack of responses maybe we're not really seeing a problem out there - or maybe we do but don't have a plan (yet?) to address it. In our last Troop, there was only Scout who was overweight. He was morbidly obese, according to his doctor. He was advised to lose weight, a lot of it, to save his life. In the Troop, we started a "Fitness Focus" with him in mind. His parents however (who never left a meeting BTW) simply packed him up and were out the door at any point exercise or nutrtion were part of the program!?! He continued to gain weight.

 

The unit we're involved with now does not seem to have this issue with weight, but is unable to hike for any distance. My son just submitted the idea to complete the Bataan Memorial Death March, with a walking exercise plan to get in shape for the event, to the PLC. If adopted, the Scouts will have set walking goals for both distance and time five days a week and will meet for a walk/hike on the week-end with continually increased mileage/speed goals. Those that stick with the program and make all the hikes will be able to go.

 

Any other ideas/programs going on out there to address this? Changes in camping menus, BSA Fitness Award, etc?

[packsaddle]

I'm glad to say that this unit doesn't seem to have a problem with obesity right now, scouts OR leaders. So it's business as usual for us.

[Beavah]

Yah, I see da problem in two areas.

 

1) Leaders. I gotta say our adult leaders at all levels are tippin' da scales well above where they should. I think dat's a real program problem at the Boy Scout and especially Venturing levels (though Venturing leaders seem to be doin' a bit better than the boy scouters). It's a program problem because the adults limit the program. When they're well rounded, their troops tend to do little more than "plop" campin' next to the trailer. I think they also tend to put more activity restrictions on the lads even when plop campin' - not trusting boys to do things that they personally find more challengin'.

 

2) Cub Scouts. I think da cub program draws from a bigger pool of kids and is much less active physically. So we see more obese cubs than we do Boy Scouts. I haven't really paid that much attention to it, but my guess is that we lose those kids when they hit boy scouting, because they can't keep up with peers on more active/outdoorsy adventures. Given what ntrog8r and others are sayin', I wonder if that isn't a part of the webelos to scouts transition issue.

 

I'm not sure how yeh really address da leaders issue, eh? Losin' weight is a hard thing, and keepin' it off harder without really changin' your lifestyle. I'm sorta in favor of da health requirements idea, though da BMI tables are wrong-headed. But if we push too hard, we'll lose too many volunteers.

 

Seems like we could do somethin' better at the cub levels, though. Makin' that program more active, and makin' fitness goals more a part of cub advancement seems like it would be a good thing.

 

Beavah

 

[ntrog8r]

Beavah,

 

I hadn't thought about the Cubs aspect but I think you're right. The most (as in total number of) obese kids I've had - in a unit I was directly involved with - were in Packs. Thinking back, only ONE of them stayed in through transition to Boy Scouts. He struggled at first, but made it - and lost quite a bit of weight.

 

Any Cubbers out there? Do you have this issue and what are your plans/programs for addressing it?

[Hal_Crawford]

We were camping last weekend and I was looking at our scouts with an eye toward weight. Of the scouts present, only one was overweight though I wouldn't call him obese. He's a stocky guy but I am sure that he is within the weight limit. The rest ranged from scrawny to fit.

 

Of those that were absent there is one that I know exceeds the BSA standards and another that might. The first is a 16 year old Life (about to go for EBOR) who has been active in high adventure. The other is a 12 year old who is about 6' tall and still growing.

 

I agree with Beavah that the adults are a problem because the program cannot exceed our capabilities. When we are the weakest link that limits what the troop can do. It is not just a matter of weight either. Health issues such as hypertension can limit how much backpacking a unit can do. We have to look for younger fitter leaders to make sure that backpacking and other high adventure activities. The leaders in our unit all meet the acceptable (if not ideal) standards but age and health issues could be an issue in the coming years. The average age of our active leaders is close to sixty.

 

We live in an area where parents tend to be older so it is unusual to have parents under 40 in the troop. We have a couple of 19-20 year old ASMs but they are in college so they can't do much except in the summer. Right now we are doing great but 5 years from now? 10 years?

 

We have every reason to be concerned about the health of the scouts but if the health of the leaders fails then we cannot deliver the promise and that is a bigger problem.

 

Hal

 

(from a church bulletin: Weight Watchers meets on Wednesday nights at seven. Please use the wide double doors on the north side of the building).

[packsaddle]

Hal, that church bulletin is just too funny! Thanks

[Trevorum]

Several years ago we had a family in the troop that was uniformiy overweight - dad, mom, and 2 sons. I figured they shared some poor nutrition choices at home. Sure enough, when the dad and the two sons were training for Philmont, the dad confided that the home menu was being drastically altered. Within 5 months, all of them had slimmed down significantly. The trek was a success and all 4 of them are still much more in shape than previously. I think it was the prospect of a real physical challenge - Philmont - that triggered their ephiphany.

[ntrog8r]

Great point, Trevorum. If the program is not challenging enough to require fitness, maybe there is no need to change. But if there IS a physical challenge that is exciting enough that folks WANT to do it, they will make the needed changes.

 

Still seems to be a silence, in general, on program ideas to combat the problem. So I'll pose a different question.

 

Is body composition an issue that needs the attention of Scouting? If yes, who in Scouting needs to be targetted Cubs, Scouts, Scouters...?

[eatmorefrogs]

 

 

During a meeting, have an older scout teach a class on nutrition. He can cover the importance of the food pyramid and the scouts can develop a practice menu for a camp out that is nutritionally sound. I cannot understate the importance of this. The cooking habits I learned in scouting have served me my entire adult life. If they learn bad habits now, it will likely follow them.

 

Plan activities that keep the scouts moving.

* Our meetings always had a 20-30 minute game time. We tried to make these physical games during the summer. In addition to teaching things like teamwork, it also gives them a few minutes a day of running around.

* Backpacking is the best diet and exercise plan ever invented. Do some backpacking. Encourage scouts to take practice hikes on their own to prepare.

* Canoeing, Walk-A-Thons (the American Cancer Society has plenty of local ones nationwide), biking (we biked across Ohio and back when I was a youth), rock climbing, and even orienteering can all be great physical activities.

 

If you can do two things, the problem will take care of itself. Teach them the right way to eat. Spark an interest or passion in activity they'll do for a lifetime, such as backpacking, hiking, cycling, etc.

[eatmorefrogs]

I forgot to mention the importance of NOT doing things that will scare off less physically gifted scouts. Challenge them each against their own abilities, not against the abilities of the ideal physically fit scout.

 

Stress constant improvement!

[Beavah]

Is body composition an issue that needs the attention of Scouting? If yes, who in Scouting needs to be targetted Cubs, Scouts, Scouters...?

 

Yes, for Scouters and Cubs, IMO.

 

But I don't know what yeh do about it program-wise.

 

National is tryin' the ham-handed weight chart thing for adults, but only for high adventure bases and trips (and I reckon there's no way to enforce it on trips).

 

Problem is we only have the lads once a week, eh? Once a week for a few minutes durin' a meeting isn't enough for a real fitness / activity program if they're not gettin' it elsewhere. Maybe we should say as a cub scout yeh have to participate in a recreational sport as well?

 

Same problem with adults, eh? We're a small part of their life, and our more rounded fellows have developed a lifetime of habits that are hard to break. Yeh can't do that in a round table a month. They need a real, regular, multiple-times-a-week fitness program and some diet changes, eh? Maybe we establish a partnership with Weight Watchers and da YMCA? Anybody over da recommended weight chart can get discount memberships to both, with "camperships" available?

 

Beavah

 

[Knight]

I think each Scouter needs to set a good example. There are, unfortunately, lots of fols with their hearts in the right places and who do lots and lots of things ot deliver wonderful program - but they also set a poor example in this particulat area.

 

Physical actvity and exercise are the keys. Diet is important also.

 

My personal annoyance is roundtables that feature snacks.