Boy Scouts say No to Fat Leaders

I came across which is about the Boy Scouts of America placing a new weight restriction on counselors or parents who wish to take part in "high adventure" hikes. The new restriction? If your fat, you can't.

First thing, I am an Eagle Scout, so keep in mind I was in scouts, I did all those crazy hikes, got the crazy merit badges, helped old ladies cross the street. I've also take part in a few high adventure hikes. What counts as a high adventure hike? According to the news article, it's being 30 minutes away from a hospital by ground transportation, which would technically make almost all of my scout meetings "high adventure," as I grew up on the cross roads of Nowheresvill and Cowcud, USA.

Anyway, the scouts have decided that "obese people" probably should not be taking part in, you know, mountain hiking, or being more than 20 yards from a defibrillator. And this story is basically about how outraged people are about this. One quote from the site follows:

'"This is nuts," one poster wrote. "Guidelines are welcome, not mandatory policy. Risk and ability to participate should be a matter between the boy/parent and trained medical staff, not an arbitrary table." '

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