For Operation Pull Your Own Weight BMI data plays a central role in the following ways. When a school or a school district (YMCA, Park District, Boys and Girls Club, Scouts, etc.) comes on board all participants are immediately measured for height, body weight, and their ability to perform conventional, unassisted pull ups. Next, the height weight data is used to calculate BMI scores for all participants.
Two Groups Suddenly Become Three
With this information in hand participants are divided into two groups. Group A includes all those kids who can do at least one pull up. Group B includes all those kids who are unable to do at least one pull up. Then we carefully examine the BMI scores for all the participants in Group A in order to confirm (or refute) that all of them have BMI scores of BELOW THIRTY, so all of group A are demonstrably NOT OBESE.
Next we take group B and examine all of their BMI scores in order to subdivide these students into two subgroups. Group B1 includes all those students whose BMI scores are below 30, thus are also demonstrably not obese, but who so far lack enough upper body strength to do even one conventional pull up. Group B2 includes all those students whose BMI scores are 30 and above, thus are demonstrably obese, and who are simply too heavy to do any pull ups.
The Retention Category
This procedure effectively creates three categories of students. Group A we refer to as the Retention Category because these students are not only light enough and strong enough to do at least one pull up, but if they eat and exercise in ways that allow them to retain (or maintain) the ability, they’ll successfully avoid obesity and related problems for the rest of their lives. Becoming members of the Retention Category is the main goal of all the students who participate in OPYOW.
The Prevention Category
Group B1 includes all those students who so far are unable to do any pull ups but who are demonstrably not obese because their BMI scores are below 30. Group B1 we refer to as the Prevention Category because these students have thus far avoided obesity, (many of theses kids are actually skinny) but in the long run they still need to prevent the seed from being planted, taking root, and growing at a later date by adding enough upper body pulling strength to be able to do at least one pull up.
When anyone from the Prevention Category achieves that goal they automatically become new members of the Retention Category who now must simply eat and exercise in ways that allow them to retain the ability and they too will naturally avoid obesity and related problems for the rest of their lives.
The Rehabilitation Category
Group B2 includes all those students who are thus far unable to do any pull ups, and who are demonstrably obese because their BMI scores are 30 or higher. Group B2 we refer to as the Rehabilitation Category because these students are already obese, so they’ll have to be motivated enough to actively improve their eating habits, increase their exercise load, and gain upper body pulling strength in order to learn to be able to do at least one conventional pull up.
But once students from the Rehabilitation Category learn to perform at least one conventional pull up we retest their BMI, confirm it’s under 30, and they too become members of the Retention Category who now must simply eat and exercise in ways that allow them to retain the ability and they too will naturally avoid obesity and related problems for the rest of their lives.
Childhood Obesity Checkmated
When 100% of students in a school are able to physically pull their own weight, childhood obesity will be eliminated, and related problems, including underachievers’ academic performance and anti-social behavior (bullying, taunting, and teasing) will automatically improve. What more can an educational administrator or school board hope for? It’s an educational administrator’s trifecta. Three for the price of one!
An Attempt to Clarify Misunderstandings
Therefore in OPYOW we use before and after BMI data/calculations but we use them in an unconventional way. Because of its unconventionality, some occasionally think that we lack or don’t ever use BMI data, when in fact that’s obviously untrue. Hopefully this explanation clarifies the some of the misunderstandings that occasionally arise over the relationship between BMI and OPYOW
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