Obese boy scouts have been banned from the National Scouts Jamboree that’s underway in West Virginia. Both adults and boy scouts cannot go over a certain body mass index level and if they are, they cannot take part in the rigorous activities during the 10-day event.
Scouts and adults must have a BMI at below 40 in order to participate, notes USA Today. Those with BMI indexes between 32 and 39.9 need medical approval to attend.
Dan McCarthy, director of the BSA's Summit Group, told the AP that the move helped motivate adults and scouts to get healthier. "We required a level of fitness in order to come to the Jamboree that we haven't required before. And that has motivated an enormous return in terms of both kids and adults getting serious about improving their health,” he said.
The event started on Monday and continues until July 24 at the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve. Some of the rigorous, “high-adventure activities” include kayaking, skateboarding, rock climbing, BMX riding and a three-mile uphill hike.
“Teaching scouts and scouters how to live a sustainable life, which includes a healthy lifestyle, and the health of our participants are important goals of the jamboree,” BSA spokesman Deron Smith told ABC News. “We published our height weight requirements years in advance and many individuals began a health regimen to lose weight and attend the jamboree. But, for those who couldn’t, most self-selected and chose not to apply.”
Still, some groups are criticizing the requirements, notes CNN. The said it “believes that this decision promotes bias and negative attitudes and furthers the discrimination against boys of larger body size.”
BSA didn’t say how many scouts would be banned because of the requirements. It’s estimated that over 30,000 scouts and 7,000 adults will take part in the event.
