ok so zip lining or whatever may be safety issues. They could provide activities that others could partake in but then does that defeat the purpose of this outing? Does being obese actually fit the mold of the organization? Is not part of the scouts healthy living? being active? besides the honesty helpful ......I really wasn't a scout after brownies. I would think IF they are a "club" they have the right as any other to have membership requirements. I figure if my state gives the right of employers to fire someone for any reason the boy scouts have the right to do what they feel necessary in the name of safety.

Hummm.... I don't know. Seems they were the ones who also booted gay kids awhile back?

God forbid your gay AND fat!

I was a fat kid. It sucks on so many levels to be left out because you're fat... Safety considerations, sure, I get that... but exclusion?

I know agencies and businesses,etc have rights, and of course they should... but it feels like discrimination too me. Just like sexual orientation, race, religion... etc.

Just think this it's really sad... instead of an organization taking them under their wings so to speak and protecting these kids and guiding them they are making them outcasts and hurting them...I understand their need to walk with caution but to completely ignore them is simply wrong... and an adult is behind it... way to go !! not !!

What really stinks is that it is the parents that are to blame and the kids are paying the price. I do however think that this a bias. Do they ban boys with diabetes, heart problems, asthma, or any other disease?

Becca, boy scouts were in the news for allowing gay boys to attend, not for banning them. They did howeven ban Lesbian leaders from leading. lol They can't quite decide what they are going to do. Darned if they do, darned if they don't.


My opinion on kids and obesity, is that it is time for parents to cancel the cable tv, sell the xbox, and buy a bicycle for every member of the family. Get the kids invovled in a time consuming physcial hobby, and parents quit making excuses why there is no time to get the kids to a sport as often as they need to.
TV is not an acceptable babysitter.
Oreo cookies DO NOT = LOVE
And kids do not need another friend, they need a parent that will guide them through life with love and disipline.

That is out and out discrimmination!

Discrimination! That is the word I was searching for! I realy need more sleep. Lol

My son went throughout scouts from tiger through 2ND year webelos and started boy scouts. He didn't do well, he suffered acute seperationanxiety so didn't get past the camping thing. I finally pulled him out when I had to take him to the er for a broken arm after a meeting. One of the older boys decided to go down the stairs backwards and fell on him. However more to the point our troop didn't discriminate against anyone big or small. Outside of little supervision I really didn't have a problem.

As for parents shutting off the cable etc. you really have to cooler the family dynamics. I am definitely a big girl, my husband isn't small either and was a husky kid. Our son is blessed with being talk and thin, 5'10" and 138lbs his bmi is something like 19.2. He's been like this for years. While we we're very outdoorsy people when he was small the larger I got the less we did. he only did the sports he wanted to and there we're many times as a teenager he did nothing but play video games all day. Sometimes it isn't the parents fault. I was an active kid but was still bigger than most of my friends.I think genetics plays a big part.

I know we have had our 10 year old grandson cut back on his snacking and overeating. He does not participate in sports and stays in and watches way too much tv and would love to just play video games. This can be the down fall of so many our our youths health. I saw on the news where they are finding children with the beginning stages of high blood pressure! This stems from bad eating habits as well as the lack of physical activity. Parents/Grandparents have the mind set "Well, I was a heavy child so they are too." I say break the cycle now so that they don't end up like us having to have weight loss surgery.

Thank you Golden! My bad!!

I took an eating disorder class quite a few terms back... Yes, there are genetics involved. There is also so much our kids learn from our habits and body image. The whole don't do as I do, do as I say... well, it applies.

When we want our kids to go out and be active, we can't be sitting on the couch, munching on chips, watching TV when we tell them to do it... We must pull them out the door WITH US :)

Of course that is just one VERY SMALL piece of the puzzle....

I know one thing I did when my kids were little... when they said they were done eating, they were done! No questions asked. No, they couldn't go get crappy food to replace dinner, but there was NO clean plate rule at our table. I figured if their bodies told them they had enough, they should listen to them. And if they didn't want to eat because they would rather do something else, then I was not going to make them. And of course, they grew and are healthy young men today :)