California’s Governor Gavin Newsom wants to turn a generation of kids into obese adults, that by the time 2050 rolls around, these hopeless folks will be wheeled around in self-balancing strollers, first popularized in the animated film Wall-E.
Newsom plans to cancel physical education tests for students for three years over new concerns of bullying and discrimination against disabled and non-binary students.
The move to cancel physical education tests comes as annual test results suggest California’s youth is becoming obese.
H.D. Palmer, the spokesman for the Department of Finance, told Bay Area KPIX 5 that the current measurement of body mass index (BMI) is discriminatory to some students, most notably to non-binary students, as BMI screenings require students to select “male” or “female,” he said.
AP News noted that annual state physical education reports show that around the 2014/15 period, health scores of students started to decline.
Students’ scores in “aerobic capacity,” which can be described in layman’s terms as the one-mile run, have dropped over the years. Tests for push-ups and sit-ups have also declined.
“In the last five years, the percentage of fifth-graders scoring healthy in the aerobic category has dropped by 3.3 percentage points. In seventh and ninth grades, the drops are 4.4 percentage points and 3.8 percentage points, respectively. Meanwhile, the percentage of students identified as “needing improvement” and having a “health risk” went up: by 3.3 percentage points among fifth-graders, 4.4 for seventh graders and 3.8 among ninth-graders,” KPIX 5 said.
During the three-year suspension of tests, Newsom and school officials will review whether to modify or completely withdraw the health exam.
Physical education classes will continue for the duration of the suspension, though the government won’t be able to track the health of kids.
Palmer told KPIX 5, “the issue of BMI screening plays a role in the issues of both body shaming and bullying.”
Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s spokesman Daniel Ketchell said, “whether the state uses fitness tests or not, Governor Schwarzenegger believes that the most important thing is that our students have access to daily physical education classes to promote a healthy and fit lifestyle.”
With a staggering 75% of Americans already overweight or obese – California’s suspension of the obese test could lead to a continuation of deteriorating health trends for youth in the state, eventually lead to unhealthy lifestyles, that by the time this future generation hits retirement, they might be rolling around in self-driving chairs.
The future of America is fat…