Data and reality

0

To the Editor:

Really? Thirty percent of island children are overweight or obese? Really?

While I support and celebrate the many initiatives that have brought healthier foods and increased opportunities for physical activity to our children, there must be some mistake in a measurement that concludes that over a third of our kids have high BMIs. Sometimes the data don’t match our lived experience.

It’s important to think carefully about possible errors. The rural scholars themselves noted fluctuating annual results. That makes such a conclusion even riskier. Look around. Where are these children hiding?

I see average sized students congregating outside of schools, at social and community events and photographed in your paper. I even went back to last spring and looked at the published group photos of all of the 8th graders. Where are these 730 overweight kids?

Let’s move forward with our programs to increase access to nutritious foods and healthy activities, but not have them rest on statistics that may not reflect reality. Remember, you don’t have to be sick to get better.

Joy Robinson-Lynch

West Tisbury