Beware the fat police

Via Memeorandum

The BMI of children 12-18 seems to be the highest priority of Congress now that they have taken charge of health care. Perish the thought they might come up with a balanced budget or do something constructive for jobs. Tracking how fat little Susie got this year is now as important as tracking terorists:

A bill introduced this month in Congress would put the federal and state governments in the business of tracking how fat, or skinny, American children are.

States receiving federal grants provided for in the bill would be required to annually track the Body Mass Index of all children ages 2 through 18. The grant-receiving states would be required to mandate that all health care providers in the state determine the Body Mass Index of all their patients in the 2-to-18 age bracket and then report that information to the state government. The state government, in turn, would be required to report the information to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for analysis.

Pennsylvania's schools already track this information though it is supposedly used to inform the parents.   None of us can tell how thin or heavy our kids are without government intervention.  The thought that this information would now  be sent to Washington is about all I can take from this busybody government.

Of course this tracking BMI program will be funded through grants to states with our taxpayer dollars as fuel. I am sure they feel entitled to bill us for this service. It's for our own good after all:

At a press conference last week to announce the introduction of the bill, Kind emphasized it would help “busy American families.”

“Making the healthy choice the easy choice for our families is essential to ensuring our quality of life,” Kind said. “I am pleased to work on legislation that helps provide the opportunities that meet the needs of busy American families.”

If Rep Kind is truly concerned about busy American families, perhaps he might consider staying the heck out of our business and minding his own.  It's just 171 days until we shed the dead weight in Congress.  I can't wait.

Heh, JWF has the solution to this Nanny State Nightmare:

How about we start by having Michelle Obama tell us what her BMI is? Dare I suggest the number would be appallingly high? Seriosuly, this Big Brother crap has to stop.