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SALT LAKE CITY -- Boy Scouts and their leaders will have to meet new body standards in order to participate in certain high adventure activities.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports the new Boy Scouts of America (BSA) national policy goes into effect Jan. 1, 2010.
It will keep those considered overweight, according to a standard Body Mass Index chart, from participating in activities that take them more than 30 minutes away from emergency medical help. That could include long journeys into the back country, extended camp-outs, or rock climbing.
The Body Mass Index is a formula that factors in height and weight to determine obesity.
A national BSA spokesperson said the standards will not affect the majority of Boy Scout activities like regular camping activities, shorter hikes and non-high adventure activities.
Scoutmasters are still trying to figure out what this means. One of them, Doug Darton of Sandy, told the Tribune that troops whose leaders are overweight are not doing these activities anyway.
The Great Salt Lake Council of Boy Scouts says it encourages people to follow the guidelines but isn't in the enforcement business.
E-mail: aadams@ksl.com
