mileena

Hi, thanks to everyone for replying and for your support! It has bothered me a little throughout the years, but I have gotten over it. What got me to post here was an article I saw the other day in a newspaper where parents of elementary students complained about a body fat measutirng machine which was in the school and giving readouts to each students saying things like "obese" or "skinny". Times have changed a lot since the 70's! I am pasting the article here in case anyone is interested: http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/state/041115bodyfat.shtml Monday, November 15, 2004 Machines to measure body fat taken out of elementary school AUBURN-Equipment to measure body fat, which caused a furor last year when it was used in elementary grades, has been transferred to the city's middle and high schools. Parents had complained that the testing of fourth- through sixth-graders at Webster Intermediate School led to embarrassment that left some children in tears. The laser equipment, purchased through a $300,000 federal grant for fitness equipment, measured students' body mass index - body fat compared to height and weight. Such tests were recommended by the Maine Department of Education, but many Webster parents said they knew nothing about them until their kids brought home a printout that designated them obese, average or underweight. The middle and high school health centers will now use the machines on an individual basis. At the high school, freshmen will be analyzed as part of their required physical education course. Officials say trained personnel will test students and release scores in private. Other Maine high schools routinely test students' body fat composition. Mount Ararat High School in Topsham, which won awards for its health program, uses a body fat analyzer as part of its freshman gym class. There, teenagers are tested privately by trained personnel, who explain the scores and relate them to each student's overall health. They tell students that the scores are personal.

Hi, back in 1979 when I was in third grade, I weighed 148 pounds or so I think. Or maybe it was 132. When I got weighed by the school nurse, she she glared at me and said in an angry tone "You're obese!!!". I obviously knew I was obse, and she did not need to tell me this. I was humiliated by this, and never told anyone. Was this behavior by her appropriate (especially given that it was 1979), and are all school nurses this way? Thanks.