I'm Fat

Recently, my local paper ran a story about the obesity rate in our school system.  The interesting aspect of the article was its breakdown of the obesity rate by school.  The author grouped all Title I schools together and all non-Title I schools together.  I think the point was that poor kids are fatter than rich kids, and there must be some kind of program to help balance the rising obesity inequality in our schools...

More than a decade ago, someone remarked to me that America is the only place in the world where poor people are fat.  From what I've read, we've got some company in those regards now.  I wonder when it was where we went from girth denoting a person's wealth to it now revealing the lack thereof.  Why should poor people be fatter than rich people?  Aren't the rich the ones with money to spend on food?

Not only did that part of the article bother me, but it seemed like yet another education article written with the "parents-as-bystanders" perspective.  If we can't get parents involved in their own children's education, then how effective are teachers and administrators expected to be?