Obese Boy Scouts Banned From National Jamboree
July 16, 2013BMI of 40 or Above Sidelines Boy Scouts
Every four years, The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) organization hosts a National Jamboree where tens of thousands of boy scouts and leaders gather to experience a camping adventure like no other. The participants are hand picked by their local council members and must meet very specific qualifications in camping and leadership skills, physical fitness, and in character. But this year, other criteria was added to the mix…participants (scouts and leaders) were only accepted if they had a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or below. No obese or overweight boy scouts were allowed. Scouts with BMI’s between 32 and 39.9 had to submit their personal medical information to be approved.
The 2013 National Jamboree, which began yesterday, is being held on the 10,600-acre Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve in West Virgina and is expected to be the most physically demanding in the history of the Boy Scouts organization. The 10-day camping experience will include a lot of walking, hiking, rock climbing, kayaking, rappelling, rafting, mountain biking, and other high intensity physical activity that the Boy Scout Organization apparently feels can’t be done if one’s BMI is of a certain number.
According to boy scout officials, the height and weight requirement for this year’s gathering were published well in advance in an effort to give scouts healthy goals to work towards. Mandatory terms posted on the organizations website included the following statement by organizers:
“Obesity and being overweight have been shown to increase the likelihood of certain diseases and other health problems: hypertension, heart attack, dyslipidemia, and stroke. Anyone who is obese and has multiple risk factors for cardiovascular/cardiopulmonary disease would be at much greater risk of an acute cardiovascular/cardiopulmonary event imposed on them by the environmental stresses of the Summit. Our goal is to prevent any serious health-related event from occurring, and ensuring that all of our participants and staff are “physically strong.”"
Bo McCoy, Vice President of Operations for ObesityHelp Inc., shared his thoughts about the BSA's most recent discrimination, "As a former Boy Scout member who attended camps, Jamboree's, and other BSA functions I am outraged at the exclusion of young men who are outside of the normal height and weight set by the BSA organization. Scouting is supposed to be about learning skills, team work, and fitness. How can we help instill those values if they are excluded from the center piece of the BSA experience? What message are we sending young men who are obese if they are excluded for their disease while other handicapped youth are allowed to attend?"
Over 40,000 scouts and leaders were expected to attend this year's jamboree and one thing you can count on...not one of them will have a BMI over 40.
What do you think about the Boy Scouts of America's obesity discrimination and exclusion by BMI? Share your thoughts below!