Too fat to graduate?
December 11, 2009 by Geneva ReidPosted in: Health, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views
Should overweight students be required to take a fitness class? They have been at one university.
Until last week, freshmen entering Lincoln University in Pennsylvania were weighed and measured by campus health administrators.
Those found to be obese – determined by a body-mass index (BMI) of more than 30 – had to enroll in a fitness class in order to graduate.
But when 80 seniors received e-mails this fall informing them they hadn’t completed a graduation requirement – namely, the fitness class – controversy erupted. The overweight students complained they were not being treated equally.
So the faculty voted last week to eliminate the requirement. Now, the “Fitness for Life” course will be recommended to certain students after they complete a freshmen-wellness course taken by the entire student body.
The school originally required the fitness course for overweight students because of the high rates of obesity and diabetes among African Americans. Lincoln University is an historically black school.
The requirement took effect in 2006 – and this year’s seniors would have been the first group needing the course as a graduation requirement.
Not surprisingly, student reaction to the course requirement had been less than positive.
Tiana Y. Lawson wrote a column in the school newspaper voicing her opinion: “I didn’t come to Lincoln to be told that my weight is not in an acceptable range. I came here to get an education which, as a three-time honor student, is something I have been doing quite well …”
Do universities have the right to regulate the weight of their students? Let us know in the comments section below.
HigherEdMorning delivers the latest HigherEd news once a week to the inboxes of over 200,000 HigherEd professionals.
Click here to sign up and start your FREE subscription to HigherEdMorning!
Loading ...
December 9th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Institutions of higher education should focus on educating students, not on making sure they “improve” their weight. I can see making it a requirement for someone majoring in P.E. or some other health-related field, but that would be due to their major, not because of their weight. I think it’s a good idea to have the class available on a volunteer basis but making it a requirement for everyone is going too far.
December 9th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Keeping yourself physically fit, has positive effects on your ability to think; studies have shown this to be true. I am sad that the faculty voted to eliminate this requirement. The wisdom of this requirement is lost on our young ones, the ones who it was meant to protect and teach to thrive. We decry the violence that kills so many of young and gifted, and yet we stand silent as many more of young and gifted eat their way to their deaths.
How sad that Tiana did not recognize the value of this part of the education she was being offered. It is laudable that Tiana is a “three-time” honor student, and that will be nice information to put in her eulogy if she dies from a stroke due to high blood pressure, due to her obesity. Your elders were only trying to educate you fully, so you would not end up as a medical statistic.
December 9th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
Absolutely not…. As we do not require pregnant students to take parenting classes for example.
December 9th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
While well-intentioned, I feel it is inappropriate to impose a BMI policy on voting-age citizens. Is the policy based on sound science demonstrating life-long health benefits from applying discriminatory standards to a subset of the student body? Seems unlikely; more probably someone cooked this up off the top of their head. In the unlikely event that medical science actually supports the employed methodology, it still smells like an ADA lawsuit waiting to happen. If this isn’t illegal, it should be.
I think the policy is not germane to Lincoln’s primary mission of education. Years from now, Lincoln might regret this separate and unequal treatment when they dun these select graduates for endowment donations.
December 9th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
NO!! Being obese is a choice just like smoking, drinking, unsafe sex etc. Since when do universities have the right to dictate personal choice. If people want to live unhealthy lifestyles, that is their choice and they have to live or die with those consequences.
December 9th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
I don’t think it is right to discriminate by weight, but I think as part of a liberal education, all college students should be required to take PE. Just like literature and math, it will help students be balanced.
December 9th, 2009 at 11:23 pm
Absolutely not. A university that is approaching this method by force is completely unrealistic and I would not doubt it to be unconstitutional. If a university is worried about the health of their students it is in the infrastructure of that university that change needs to happen. Is there a healthy and vibrant recreation program on campus easily accessible to students?
Are there many non-traditional working students with families that need to have services tailored towards them? Hours at a gym on campus open earlier or later that provides child care and spouse memeberships?
There are many routes to how a university can commit to improving the health of their students and its done through the choices the university makes about student quality of life.
You cannot force someone to lose weight through graduation requirements, a PE class rigormorale is likely to have little impact, but a vibrant and rich fitness program with many options of HOW one can exercise and form friendships and support networks (the true enablers of helping keep students happy and healthy).
There are many successful models for encouraging fitness on campues, I would encourage the University in question to look into NIRSA and other university fitness programs to see what they’re doing to improve the health of students on campus.
December 10th, 2009 at 12:33 am
Obesity is no more choice than bronchitis or sports accidents. Complex genetic, environmental and psychological factors determine risks for obesity and vulnerability to these risks is largely unknown. The discrimmination against students for any particular disease, or body size or shape is absolutely unacceptable and should be fought vehemently with the same dencce as racism, sexism or other prejuidiced behaviors. There is no grounds for the assertion that being obese is a choice . There is also no grounds for universities having control over students’ health, choices or bodies.
December 10th, 2009 at 12:43 am
Fat people are routinely discriminated against in school and in life in general. My brother just lost 150 pounds in one year on the CEA-How program. He says obesity is a mental disease similar to obsessive compulsive disorders. He says fat people cannot be trusted because they cannot control what they put in their mouth. I say fat people can control what they put in their mouth, they just don’t want anybody telling them what they can and cannot do.
December 10th, 2009 at 12:45 am
Can we trust a skinny cook?
December 10th, 2009 at 3:50 am
Yes. Part of being an intelligent and educated person is knowing what you need to do to take care of your most precious asset. You need to take care of yourself. The university is not forcing student to lose weight in order to graduate, they are only creating better informed people. I think it is great that this university is concerned about the well-being, both mentally as well as physically, of their students. However, I believe it should be a requirement for all students, just because you’re not obese doesn’t mean you know what it means to eat nutritionally dense foods and what it means to be at least moderately active. I would make it a requirement for all, like library research class, but have a opt-out test available, which you have to pass if you’d like to skip the class.
December 10th, 2009 at 9:40 am
This school is not regulating the weight of their students. They are providing additional education to those student apparently too “thick” to understand all the negative repercussions to themselves and society (health care costs). Colleges have had other graduation requirements, such as library science, that had less of an impact on society than obesity.
December 10th, 2009 at 9:49 am
Private universities, and perhaps public as well, have the right to have such policies. Whether this is fair or the best thing to do are separate issues.
Our choices affect other people—emotionally and often financially. Our health insurance premiums and taxes are affected by other people’s choices, so we are paying for at least a portion of the health care for anyone who does not pay for the entire cost of their own health care.
Also, I may be splitting hairs, but no one I know chooses obesity (or alcoholism or STDs). Yes, we each make our own choices about food, exercise, smoking, drinking, and safe versus unsafe sex. Our choices, though, are strongly influenced by biological, social, and psychological factors. Well-designed programs can help some people manage or counter some of these influences. Hopefully universities which adopt a policy around obesity will also choose to address other behaviors as well. A mandatory health class could be one piece of a comprehensive prevention effort.
December 10th, 2009 at 10:24 am
This isn’t about regulating their weight. It is about requiring students to take a fitness class. Didn’t see it stated anywhere that they needed to follow through and get fit and lose weight. This is about making sure that those students that are at risk have information, i.e. an education, concerning their choices. We had physical education requirements to graduate in my college. If students want to “test out” of this requirement, they could; they have four years to do so. I applaud Lincoln for trying this.
December 10th, 2009 at 11:07 am
There was a time in which all college students had to take some sort of fitness courses, just as they had to do in high school. Now, most schools have eliminated this requirement as they have others such as required foreign language and mid level computational mathematics.
Now if this requirements was in force when this student was accepted into the university, then fine. The student has no argument. On the other hand, if this has been added since the student was accepted and admitted (and started courses) at this university, they I would argue that the degree plan and catalog requirements at the time of admission, constitutes a binding contract between the school and the student. Therefore, the student cannot be bound by this requirement. Of course, I am sure the argument would then center on the concept of a valid contract between the parties in which there has to be a valid offer, consideration, and acceptance for a contract to take place. This is interesting.
December 10th, 2009 at 11:15 am
I applaud the school in taking efforts to create more balance in their students. We are witnessing the collapse of many industries and institutions mostly in the financial arena–wall street and realestate because many people operated from a sense of denial when they spent now and paid later–when the bill came due it created financial ruin.
The same principles apply to physical health and well being, eat junk food, smoke, drink too much, dont move, or exercise, and put off till later making any changes–the bill to be paid by the individual, community and society, is illness, disability, and early death, in many cases from things that could have been prevented.
The medicare system is due to crumble, if we as a society, do not break out of our denial and begin to take more responsibilty for our health, instead of becoming angry and defensive. Of the four quadrants of life– career, finances, health and relationships – the loss of health prevents all of the others from working. How this monumental problem will be reversed I do not know,but I applaud anyone trying to make a positve change.
When health is absent
wisdom cannot reveal itself,
art cannot become manifest,
strength cannot be exerted,
wealth is useless, and
reason is powerless.
- Herophillies, 300 B.C.
December 10th, 2009 at 11:50 am
I think this issue is another example of scapegoating, and has nothing to do with anything than other people needing to feel better about themselves by picking on people that are different from them. I realize in this emotionally charged debate about health care people will say anything, blame anyone, to resist change. But obesity in America is not why we have a failing Health care system, nether is smoking or any of the “choices” that people make about their health. It is simply creating a scapegoat, some one to blame, a group of easily recognizable people to take your anger out on, so that we do not have to change a failing system. When the real problem with health care is administrators being rewarded for increasing the cost of health care through waste, bloated bureaucracy, and fraud. Lets fix the problem, and leave the scapegoats alone.
December 10th, 2009 at 11:57 am
All student have the right to be treated equally. If the university wants to make the fitness course a requirement, then it should be for all students regardless of their weight. Don’t think the students would be as upset about the policy if it applied to everyone instead of only those who are considered to be obese by the BMI standards.
December 10th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
I think it is important to include physical education in a liberal arts curriculum however, requiring only fat students to take this course is discrimination. There are plenty of skinny students with fast metabolisms who are eating unhealthy foods, not exercising, and smoking. If the people who thought of this ridiculous policy don’t know that it is possible to be thin an unhealthy, then they ought not meddle in matters they know nothing about.
Speaking as someone who was a fat kid (close to 400lbs in college) and lost weight later in life, I can tell you that after having been a ridiculed my entire life because of my weight, having a college administration join in on the fun would have been devastating. It would have caused me to eat more, not less, and certainly not more healthy. I would not have seen it as an effort to improve my health, I would have seen it as one more way for society to express their hatred for me. More of the same.
December 10th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Are they freakin crazy?!!! Those administrators need to take a genetics course!
December 10th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Absolutely NOT! Obesity is often an emotional problem and that needs to be taken into account. You can’t force a person to be thin or healthy – some things just are.
December 10th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
To no avail, I have been promoting the reintroduction of PE classes back into the graduation requirements of our university for a number of years. I agree it should be just as important as Math and Language. (to mkb: Yes, there will always be cases for genetic arguments to why a person is over weight. I propose most obesity is due to physical laziness, poor role models and diet. Plus, with proper medical documentation a specific person may have that requirement waived.)
As our students become more physically lethargic, we as educational institutions owe it to them to guide them in becoming ‘all they can be’. If after graduation they want to revert to coach potatoes, then at least they have been trained and educated on how to change.
A BMI requirement might not be a bad idea. When you look at who will be hired first, most likely it will be the less obese person. Discrimination you ask? Well, this is not simply a personal health issue. If we begin looking at the bottom line of companies (as well as society) that will be hiring our grads, obesity ranks right there with smokers. It is an economic question for an employer. Smokers, and drinkers drive up insurance costs for society as well as employers. Obese employees do the same. In the very near future, as health costs rise, obese people will NOT get hired.
Part of the learning experience at the university is the lifestyle exploration that takes place, and I encourage that. However, requiring two years (4 semesters) of PE and Health (read diet and lifestyle) classes would do our students and our society a world of good.
For what it is worth, my 10 cents worth.
December 10th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
I attended a University where Physical Education courses were part of the curriculum regardless of the major or any other factors; I think it was a very positive thing. I am thankful I was required to take such courses. The University offered several, but I chose swimming and tennis. Had it not been required I know I would not have taken either, but turned out I loved them both. College is the place where we should learn new things. I am grateful they had the insight to require those classes. I still participate in both with my husband and kids and they definitely help to keep the weight off.
December 10th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
Instead of having a BMI requirement, universities should stop offering horrible trash like chicken fingers, fries, burgers, hot dogs, ice cream and soda (and ALL other GARBAGE food). Stressed out and hard working students will eat anything. They also eat late at night. If all they can get their hands on is meat, fruit, vegetables, water, milk or any other WHOLESOME food this would sure go a long way toward helping students (and their BMI’s). And by the way, if the university has a no alcohol policy then they should ENFORCE IT. These are policies colleges can have. It’s ridiculous to require only overweight students to take certain courses. That would be discriminatory.
December 10th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
If we’re going to do this for obesity, then we need to do it for everything else, too. So,
- any student receiving a speeding ticket would have to take a class on driving safety
- any student who smokes would have to take a class on dangers of smoking
- any student who consumes alcohol would have to take a class on drinking responsibly
- any student who is violent would have to take a class on anger management
- any student who shows bias would have to take a class on diversity
- any student who has unprotected sex would have to take a class on sexual resonsibility
And the list goes on ………….
December 10th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Mike says: I propose most obesity is due to physical laziness, poor role models and diet.
OUCH! Perhaps we could put a reframe on “laziness” and talk about different energy levels as one of the issues around obesity to get a better perspective about how we could help.
December 10th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
PE should be required for ALL students in a liberal arts college. Both an Activity class and a Lecture class should be mandatory. I’m NOT in favor of using the BMI index for anything. I am a PE Prof, and the BMI states that I am overweight, even though at 40 years old I’m at a very healthy 12% body fat. The BMI does not account for muscle weight (which weighs more than fat). Probably all of the men on the wrestling team would be close to obese, however some schlub who plays PS2 all day and has 25% body fat would look ok.
December 10th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
I haven’t read through all of the comments but I am appalled at the ones I have read that been in support of the colleges original plan. Are not the students in America inundated with body images that are just not achievable? How fat is too fat? Yes we answer with a BMI of 30, but how about the epidemic of eating disorders especially among women. When a 5’9″ inch woman who weighs 120lbs starts to talk about how fat she is, there is a problem. To “make weight” what will the student do? Fast? Starve? Purge? This epidemic is akin to steroid use. Promoting a healthy lifestyle on campus is another issue. Having proper facilities for a student to work out or to play sports or to just jog should be encouraged. Better food service to promote healthier living and nutrition. This is what we as educators should embrace. Not a punitive situation for only a few students. Wake up! This whole conversation is stupid.
December 10th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Well, and perhaps instead of saying “Are they freakin crazy” I could have reframed my OWN response! This is just one of those issues I think we do not know enough about. As my neighbor (in med school) said about her dad’s obesity, “Why won’t he do what I tell him and eat right?” I replied that THAT indeed is the REAL issue in my opinion. What drives someone to behavior that will kill them?
Also, I have to agree with Mary about which issues e.g. obesity, drugs, etc. we choose to single out, not that we can’t focus on all of them, but I remind my students every semester: We spend a forture on drug wars when alcohol kills more people annually than all other drugs combined, nicotine kills more than alcohol, and going fast in a car kills more than that. What then, should our priority be if our goal is to save lives?
December 10th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
This issue reminds me of the requirement that many colleges used to have that all students pass a swimming test in order graduate. It made little sense but at least it applied equally to all students. If a college wants to require that all students take a fitness course as part of the required curriculum, and that is clearly stated when students apply, that’s fine. But the notion of requiring overweight students only to take such a course is clearly discriminatory and just plain stupid.
December 10th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
No, universities do not have the right to weight-police. There is nothing wrong with a requirement of a physical fitness or even health-and-wellness credit. The issue is requiring it only of a select group. The stigma of being “selected” for this required course is clearly a problem. It’s NOT the same as requiring developmental reading or math for a student in need.
My college required one physical education credit of every student. Having avoided PE through HS because of locker room fear, I began the course with trepidation. It was pass-fail and low-pressure. Everyone was in the same boat, and several sports were introduced on a “try-it and see” basis. For instance, everyone had to find their way from one end of the pool to another–didn’t have to be pretty, just on top rather than on the bottom. The experience was so positive I took six more PE credits before I finished. Comparing myself to my sibs and parents, this was the difference between my more active lifestyle and theirs 20-odd years later.
Here’s the other thing to make you go “hmmm”… It sounds from the article as if the students thought they might fly under the radar and avoid the course. It only became an issue as the seniors realized the school was actually going to “force” them to do, well, what they told them in the beginning would be required?
December 11th, 2009 at 11:39 am
Mary (7 or 8 posts above) expressed my thoughts, exactly.
Focusing on just obese students when others are doing potentially irreparable damage to their still-forming brains by drinking heavily is just silly. Both are significant problems, but we focus on the obese students since they essentially “wear” their problems every day in ways most others don’t. To clarify, I don’t think it’s appropriate to require any class, be it about physical fitness, drinking, smoking, or sexual responsibility, for only a particular subsets of students unless it is based on the student’s degree requirements (or other strictly academic requirements).
December 11th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Should university faculty/employees be surprised? Isn’t this a logical extension of what most professors/administrators support? The national professoriate has historically supported policies and politicians who insist on telling citizens what to do with their money, what kind of car to drive, what foods to eat, what kind of energy to use in their cars and homes, etc., ad nauseum.
Well, it’s dinner time (midday in the South) and I’m gonna have some Japanese Fruit Pie for dessert. Yall have a very Merry Christmas and if no one crashes your Christmas celebration, your security is better than Obama’s! Phil Harper, Atty., CPA, PIMP (Politically Incorrect Male Professor), Acct. Dept., Middle TN State Univ., Murfreesboro, TN, ph. 615-898-2625
December 11th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
When I was a student at a private religious university, I was labeled obese and required to take a “behavioral modification” class that met at 7:00 in the morning two times a week–students referred to this course as “the fat class.” For a long time I rationalized the university’s policy because I did benefit form it; I lost 20 pounds and learned how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Now, however, I feel I could have reaped these benefits through a general ed. course required by all. I did not need to be humiliated with this course, which I now see as discriminatory and punitive. It was as if the university was telling me, “God loves you the way you are, but our college doesn’t because you’re fat!”
December 14th, 2009 at 11:31 am
As Katie wrote, having to take “The fat class” would lead to humiliation and discrimination in itself. What are they thinking to put students paying tuition through this! Aren’t we in America? If there’s a need for such a class, make everyone take it and call it a Health class. We allow all sorts of people into this country and we allow all kinds of behaviors here. Since when is it anyone’s business? I understand, as Mark indicated in his comment, that we all pay for some behaviors, but we are paying for unbelievable stuff with our tax money they we have no control over. If we discriminate with this, what’s next America? Why is this different? If people could just stay thin, I’m sure that would be the preference for them. For me it’s a struggle and I know many people who feel this same way. I’ve never heard about classes required for starving students or those who make poor choices.
January 12th, 2010 at 9:36 am
Oh my goodness, what next? Is society going to say that just because you are fat, you are not eligible to apply for a job? This is definitely leading to discrimination and lawsuits. No one can dictate what a person puts in their mouth, whether it be a cigarette or food or anything else. Just because society has this picture of what a person should look like (skinny and in a bikini) that the person is any less intelligent because they are fat? Some of the most brilliantly intelligent people are fat — so being fat does not stop them from coming up with bright ideas or solutions. Whoever thought of this definitely has “control” issues. I would hate to see what living in their home would be like — horrible.
February 5th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
Apparently some of you miss the point. You can’t require one group to do something you don’t require everyone else to do. My sister graduated from a school that required everyone to take swimming to graduate, and everyone did who couldn’t pass a swim test. End of discussion. Why is it so hard to ask everyone to meet the same requirement? When people who have suffered serious discrimination, start discriminating, we’re in real trouble. As for paying the cost of obesity, well we pay for unwed mothers so do we require sexually active students to take an abstinence class? Do we require students with police records to take a class in honest/ethics? We certainly pay the price for their behavior as well. This is again an attempt to dictate what people can and can’t do.