According to reports, a university in Pennsylvania wants students to be be fit by the time they graduate.
Lincoln University, a historically black institution in Pennsylvania, now requires overweight students to take a fitness class to receive their degrees.
Students must either have a body mass index (BMI) of below 30 (a BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese) or complete a one-semester “Fitness For Life” class.
Some 19% of 2006′s freshman class had BMIs over 30, the school reports.
“We know we’re in the midst of an obesity epidemic,” said James L. DeBoy, chairman of Lincoln’s department of health, physical education and recreation. “We have an obligation to address this head on, knowing full well there’s going to be some fallout.”
He added, “We as health educators are responsible for students’ total well-being, not just academic and cognitive, but physical and social. If a student is being wheeled out on a stretcher at age 35 or 40, they will never be able to say, ‘I wish someone had told me that this would happen.’”
This year alone, 16 percent of the school’s seniors have to take the class next spring.
The Associated Press reports that the school is catching some flack from students and educational experts.
“What’s the point of this?” asked one freshman. “Some students on campus are just confused why a certain BMI has to be a requirement. Are there not a sufficient amount of prerequisites to complete prior to graduating from college?”
Dr. Yvonne Hilton, a professor in the school’s health, physical education and recreation department, was also skeptical. “I don’t necessarily agree with the BMI being a requirement,” she told The Lincolnian. “It is understood that obesity in America is growing fast, but maybe there should have been a different approach in informing the students about their health and building their awareness.”
What do you think?
University Says Students Are Too Fat To Graduate
Again this had to be conjured up by a well fit never been pudgy person. The thing is they want to force something that took the kid a life time to become. This needs to be adressed in a positive , helpful way back in the beginning. JK and up. Plus there are kids that get extra sweets treats for rewards by fast a cooking over worked society. Parents care but sometimes can only feed on a low budget and tend to buy stuff to fill and will stretch out in volume in cupboards and frige.
How dare you say just cause someone is fat that they don’t work hard! The more you pile on these hopeless type rules, that tell people you won’t graduate no matter how hard you work in your studies. Just give younger folks another reason to say I can’t go to school or continue to grow and learn, because I won’t graduate anyhow cause I’ve been pudgey all my life. I’ve seen it.. I’ve been up and down on my own weight and it never stopped me from doing a good job in work. It never stopped me from being a dependable honorable worker.
Some people had to face people with your attitudes all their life cause they weren’t skinny enough. I know some students that aren’t really fat and get called fat to be degrated by some other selfish kid that gets jollies out of hurting others feelings.
Also I’ve seen some parents put down another kid and call them fat or such just to make their own kid feel good or superior in competition sports,music and arts. Kids then get into depression and either start eating disorders such as not, eating or doing exactly what they are being accused of and start binging. This generation teaches to not make fun of others, have discrimination laws and yet okay to pick on fat people, your displaying another discrimination period. We need to find ways to get some kids from young ages, moving around but in fun.. not in a punishing way. Put fun back in gym.Play fun games in the school yard and gym so its fun to move around. I saw kids at a school in their gym class like only grade one very young.. just running around and around the gym..Many ended up crying, puking, and hate gym. Why couldn’t it be done in a non threatening way. Not all people even skinny people are athletic. Do a fun warm up, skip or run or dance for a few minutes, then do a fun game then teach a skill and encourage, rather than point out that so and so in each class can’t keep up. Eventually whey will improve and get better if they don’t feel like failures every day they have gym.
I agree we need to help and teach newer ways to change some bad habits. A chair and whip just won’t do it. Are we saying love thy neighbour unless they have any kind of extra weight???
Give some nutriton classes, that they can learn of fun but healthy ways to make some changes in eating. Like some cooking classes where they show how to mix up and stretch out carbs, and teach different ways to make tasty but healthy dishes/snacks and let them try it. So they might be tempted to do more of it at home and develop through demonstration on how to balance out daily meals and snack.It shows them too that healthy doesn’t have to be hopelessly taste less and leave one hungry. Teach a day plan then make one of the meals in groups taste and see its not so hard.Now you know where to start. If they didn’t learn it growing up and are now adults show them, don’t punish for what they learned while children growing up in their environment, that they didn’t have too much control in and weren’t shown how to make better choices.
This is crazy!!!!! I cannot believe that the school is making this mandatory in order to graduate.
I totally agree with your response. We are teaching people that you must be thin in order to succeed. That is wrong
they are teaching people to be skinny.. they are teaching people to be healthy.. BIG DIFFERENCE.
If you can’t see the long term benefits of of programs like this your delusional.
I agree with the university, it’s about time someone makes a stand against our nation’s obesity problem even at the expense of their reputation and the potential fallout from doing so. The fact is obesity is the parents fault to begin with. I don’t care how poor, or pressed for time parents are it not difficult to teach your kids to eat healthy and monitor what they put in their mouths. Vegetables and fruit are far less expensive than all the happy meals. The problem is that the parents themselves are fat, unhappy with their bodies, and plagued by health problems. They can’t take a stand for themselves so how can the kids be expected to do the same. Teaching kids at a young age with better programs can be helpful but ultimately the parents will be the ones to feed the kids. As a result, that knowledge may not be put to use. Forcing young adults to take the responsibility to change their life habits to improve their lives is a positive thing. If these young people want good jobs they do have to be more than just intelligent and able to study hard. Companies need to be able to hire people that are more than just intellectually capable of doing a job; they have to be able to do it physically as well. Is it fair to discriminate against Fat people? Is it fair not to hire them for jobs they are not physically capable of doing? Is it fair to set standards? I think it is. Standards are what keep people, products and ideas acceptable. Discrimination is against a class of people who can’t change what they are. This type of discrimination is one thing. Obesity is not a race of people, not religion or womens rights. Obesity is a CHOICE. Sure there are medical conditions that add to it, but anyone can change their bodies if they have the will to do it. Maybe they can’t transform into a professional athlete or America’s twisted image of what a perfect body is, but they can be healthy. Yes, it’s harder for them than those who are “skinny”, but the blame for their struggles should fall on their parents and themselves, not a society trying to hold them to a healthful standard. Many people spend their lives dealing with issues as a result of their families. We all have our crosses to bear. I commend the University for its innovative and controversial idea. Hopefully others will follow suit, the fattest country in the world with the highest health care costs is literally bursting at the seams of its pants. At least one school is trying to mend them.
Hi, little Debbie,I agree with u! I ‘see its not so hard’!!!!!!!!!!!
I am with Dr. Hilton 100%!!! There is not enough medical info for this to be viable. Were the students given a full medical, including blood tests?
I had growing weight problems that was blamed on my eating, even thogh my good cholesterol was 90 (anything over 30 is considered good). Mine was in the excellent category, and I exercised walked and did water aerobics and swimming for 3 hours a day 5-6 days a week, with no results.
Long story short: Hypothyrodism/underactive thyroid. Even though I have over 18 years of education, I did not realize how this tiny floating bone effects the body. Given meds, all my test numbers kept rising, and the weight stayed on regardless of 2 years of extensive exercising.
Found out 2 months ago that the over the counter calcium I was instructed to take was blocking my thyroid medication and causing it to be ineffective. All the doctors, endoreinologist, nutritionist did not have the answer. Found it on http://www.webmd.com stated calcium effects thyroid meds if taken within four hours (this includes Tums and other antacids which have calcium) and some 132 other prescription drugs too. Best person to check with meds on a quarterly basis is the doctor of meds: Pharmacist. I educated my endocrinologist and primary doctor, who both were surprised to find this out.
There may be underlying reasons BMI may be out of whack!!
I lost 25 pounds in 2 months without going to the gym one day (due to my 96 year old father’s passing over 2 thousand miles away, and having to go back and deal with legal) No, stress not the cause, we were prepared for his passing. My sister has started losing weight since I told her how to take the meds. Something as simple as taking meds prescribed to you too close together can cause problems. Make sure yu check.
If this was not part of the class, then the school is not doing their job.
Better watch out, people who have parents with cancer or heart disease; people too short; people too thin; what if they state head shape may be an indicator for brain bleeds… What about the healthy people who dies running the 26 mile marathon, would they have graduated, sure they have BMI less than 30. Just saying.
Well i would definitely be included in the heart disease sector…. smile.
Thanks for your posting .. very informative.
Is there anything left in this country that you can’t be discriminated against? It seems everytime you turn around, you can be punished or denied a right for something. Women counldn’t vote, Blacks couldn’t do anything with whites, Gays can’t get married, and now if you are Overweight, you can’t graduate. Whatever happened to the principles on which this country was built?
This is unconstitutional! A students academics have absolutely NOTHING to do with their weight. If a school wants to offer more health and fitness classes so that students have the OPTION of getting fit and healthy, that’s one thing. But making it mandatory and necessary to graduate is a violation of rights and freedom. It’s none of the school’s business what someone’s BMI is, let alone weight. I really hope these students, fat and thin alike, stand up for what’s right and tell these “educators” to stick it!
Good for the university!!!! People are too fat and lazy; you gotta start somewhere… How bout next we set these rules in place for welfare recipients and others of the sort. News this morning: diabetes costs to triple by 2034… some 300+ billion annually. I’m never for govt intervention, except maybe in this case. People should be punished for being a fat ass; there are starving people in this world who could use one of their[fat asses] three extra shares of daily food intake. Get with it people; the university is doing you a service. Lets learn from their example and start penalizing for obesity. (I know in the RARE incidence a health condition might directly cause this and should be taken into consideration; so I don’t want to read some commpassionate liberal douche pointing that out… as I just did.) We need action in this country, not dollar menu cheeseburgers.
I have a large problem with it being a requirement for graduating just for a certain group of people. If they are going to require it, require it for all students. Oh Chris, may I suggest that maybe you see someone for the obvious anger issues that you have. Maybe there should be a requirement for attitude control, LOL. I wonder how you would react if someone came up with a discriminating policy that affecting you. How about the insulting manner you were using? Instead of demeaning the other person, maybe you could think about offering help. Remember, if your sheet isn’t completely clean, don’t be throwing feces around. Sometimes it is not the message, it is the method of delivery. Food for thought. Oh, and BTW I am not a liberal douche as you call them. On that subject, a lot of the time, I tend to agree with you.
My oh my, did we all read the story about the lashing of the poor girl in Sudan for wearing a skirt that revealed her knees? And, we consider ourselves in the United States above that backward culture? The BMI requirement is an unfair way of judging anyone in an educational environment. What is wrong with this country and why are we taking away our individual rights. If you opress people, they eventually will rebel. Example, smoking, drinking, overeating, etc… We are told to accept people for who they are on the inside not on the outside, but we are such hypocrites in today’s society. I personally would not attend that college, and I live in Pennyslvania. How degrading to live in such a state that would even think to put students through such a discriminating class.
If i was at this school to tell the truth i would kinda be happy that they did this. I mean its cruel for those that are really overweight but for me who I think is marginally overweight, I think it would help me to keep my weight down because seriously at school nothing stops me from eating all sorts of food from all over the world especially with my experimentalist mentality. I tend to try everything new and my weight suffers for it. This initiative would at least force me to accomplish a goal I have been trying to do for so long.
My university had a mandatory class called Lifetime Fitness, it was a great class. It seems health and exercise is a good way to round out the education at any accredited college. Why weren’t they requiring this class before and for everyone, regardless of BMI?
BMI is faulty and not scientific, even doctors and nutritionist agree it is not a reliable predictor of future health problems. I am considered obese at 5’7″ and 200 lbs, that may sound like a lot, but I wear a size 14, I work out 3-5 hours/week and eat more vegetables and fruits than any of my thinner counterparts. To top it off, I have great cholosterol levels and perfect blood pressure, I’m also over 30 years old and my doctors don’t think I need to loose weight. However, my best friend and her husband, both thin people, never work out, and eat pretty much how they want. They both have high cholosterol and high blood pressure. For them a lot of that is genetic. Especially for women, we need to realize that thin does not equal healthy. There are a lot of reasons that make you healthy or not and BMI just isn’t an accurate predictor. Now, if they teach that in the class, even better!
I agree with you Levelheaded. I had to write when I saw this because at 5’11″ and size 16, I can’t tell you how many people are quick to put on the fat label. BMI has nothing to do with fitness. My blood is also excellent and I workout and run these NYC subway stairs faster than any of the petite people who are considered in shape. But I am in the performance industry where image is what you get jobs from–NOT ability. It is a fact of life in this time. There is an old saying that the less fuss you make about something, the less important it becomes. If we tell you that you are “dumb dumb dumb” or “fat fat fat” that is what you grow up believing and that is what your mind manifests and you eventually become. And your mind will harbor the prejudices of your programming. You want to start helping overweight people? Or any people? How about a society that stops placing judgments on everyone? Maybe in the next age…
“We as health educators are responsible for students’ total well-being, not just academic and cognitive, but physical and social.”
When are adult college students responsible for themselves?
FCK UU!
This to me, is a very delicate subject. I myself am in very great shape at 24, and i don’t take it for granted, because you never know when you may end up in a car wreck, catch the H1N1, etc….
I disagree with the university, this nonsense only perpetuates the myth that fat people are stupid. fat people are just as intellegent as anyone. they earn the degree, they get the degree, no prerequisites,period. j
As i was saying before i accidently hit the enter button, you can really argue this from both sides. I think the school is full of crap if they say the geuinely care about the health of there students. Does this mean that the teachers will have to live by the same standards?! I think the true reason behind this is all about the “image” of the school; and in the hope to attact more wealthy familes into choosing there school. But on the flip side of the coin maybe they are trying to simply be the 1st to turn our nations insane obisety problem around?! With all the attention on Health care right now why not? Maybe some “health gu-ru” honestly cares about people that are addicted to BK & MD’s like they are Newport’s & Marlboro’s?! I know to me personally, it hurts me to see good friends who just can’t stay away from that crap. To each his own, we all have our weeknesses. To sum this all up, I think we need to ask more questions 1st, as to the ‘true’ motives of the school, and who’s really behind it, and what there ‘track records’ are before we start a riot!!
I think this is fantastic!! I am almost 70, weigh 98 lbs. sopping wet, and am 5’3″ tall. My best girlfriend from high school is my height, but way over 200 lbs., and was my size in high school. Now she has many health problems and cannot get around as well and has much pain in joints. She has tried, but at this age simply cannot lose weight and hardly eats a shred more than I do.
It is about time folks began setting limits. It will take time, but something has to work to keep young people from having the problems brought on by foolish eating.
Although it is never too late to teach solid nutrition and fitness principles, I believe that starting this process in grade school would have a greater influence on overweight and obesity prevention.
Focusing on weight-loss is a mistake however, and education aimed at lifestyle behaviors is golden.
Dr. Sardone, Author of The Naked Truth: Overweight, Overwhelmed and Confused drsardone.com
To Chris: I happen to be one of those fat asses you rant about. I work a full-time job, a part-time job, run a household and contribute many hours every month to a non-profit organization. I am NOT lazy. I do NOT have high blood pressure nor diabetes. I am a productive, tax-paying citizen who eats no more than you and if you want to compare the cost of medical care for me against the cost of my being insured all these years, bring it on. I am willing to bet that more has been spent on you than has been spent on me. Punish me for being overweight? I don’t think so. Perhaps you should be punished for not upholding the constitution”…life, LIBERTY and the pursuit of happiness…” Americans are not Nazi’s pursuing some “perfect” race.
What next? You can’t wear glasses to graduate…you must be a size 6….you can’t be under 5’7….you have to already hold a job….you have to have 2 parents…you can’t have any credit cards…you can’t have any kids….you have to drive a white American made vehicle….you can’t eat red meat to graduate…you must have a cholesterol level of 95 or less…GET MY POINT? This university is going overboard and they need to get a grip on reality. STOP IT NOW BEFORE IT GETS WORSE!!!!! Exercise is great, but to stop someone from graduating? PLEASE!!!!!
Chris , if your so fit and thin that is great(oh im not overweight b the way) What in gods name does diabetes have to do with being overweight and if you are thin and in good shape then go to school to learn a little my mother got diabetes after a double masecotmy she was in her late 60′s when that happened my motherinlaw got dieabetes after her second open heart surgery. my bosses daughter is 12 not an ounce overweight she has been diagnosed with it there are kids born with it did they eat to much in the womb . dumb ass
This makes me sick. Lets find yet another way to make those of us who are overweight feel even worse. This isn’t going to make anyone lose weight. All you can do is provide the information and let the person decided. Anyone that applaudes this university for doing this SHAME ON YOU!
Rita, the university leadership is to be commended for taking a firm stand on a serious issue which, for far too long, has received nothing but lip service. In taking this action, the university has more than amply demonstrated their concern for the students’ preparation for life…something for which America’s public education systems have long been derelict.
this is stupid! talk about triggering anorexia. i also had a fitness class and it was a good class. requiring you be a certain weight when you graduate is discriminating, and unconstitutional. we have enough restrictions on what we can and can’t do. what next, a law prohibiting people to be fat? i think it is great to educate people, but telling them they can’t graduate is wrong. did i miss something? do we live in a communist country?
Well folks, it’s not going to be the fat ones getting a job in this market. It’s going to be the slender ones. If you have a fat job applicant and a slender job applicant and they both have the same qualifications, who do you think is going to get the job? Sorry folks, that’s the way it is. In addition, obesity is driving up the cost of medical insurance. Check the price of life insurance if you want an eye opener. The fat people are going to pay a lot more for their insurance than a slender person; the risk of a fat person dying younger is much greater than a slender person. It is known and documented fat people have multiple health issues; I won’t name them, you know what they are. It’s too bad they don’t start health education in daycare where the kids get sugar water and crackers for snacks. Juice and juice blends are not a snack, they are a sugar fix. Crackers and the like are not a snack, they are an obesity precursor.
Better yet, let’s start in the home–it’s about time YOU start feeding your children unprocessed foods, feed them real food. If you don’t know what that is, think about what people at 100 years ago when everyone was slender. Eat fruits and vegetables and fish or other protein meat or the like instead of macaroni and cheese, pizza, and watever else comes in a box that’s easy to prepare.
Wake up America, you’re fat, you’re obese–you wonder why costs for everything are skyrocketing.
Look at the fat people on airplanes who should be paying for two seats. No, they just overlap into my seat and shove me into the person sitting on the other side of me.
In the grocery store aisles, you have obese people in the middle of the aisle and you cannot get around them. They’re too fat to even move out of the way. Oh yes, and then there are those who are so fat they can’t even grocery shop. They have to get a scooter and sit on their fat butt to do their grocery shopping. Oh, it’s because they have bad knees? Well, they need to knock off about 300 pounds and heal their knees. You say they have to have oxygen and cannot breathe? Knock off about 300 pounds.
Wake up America, it starts in the home before kids even go to school. If you’re older than that, take responsibility and initiative to do something about it.
All you mothers out there, wake up and smell the coffee. It’s not your health you’re ruining, it’s the health and life of your child.
Wake up America, 3 simple words. EAT LESS FOOD. (and get rid of the processed foods.)
I agree with what the school is trying to doing because once you’re on ur own, you’re going to be like..Damn I need to loss weight! Once you loss weight you feel much better about yourself and you are able to do more without having limitations on certain things. Honestly you live life better by not being over weighted (less health problems). I don’t agree wit the school policy about not graduating but I do agree with their concern about students being obese.
This is the bottom line students: Given the same qualifications for a job, the slender ones are going to get the job.
You think the university is doing something wrong? Nope they’re not, they’re trying to assist you in getting a job.
You fatties out there better take this to heart if you want a job.
Melissa, you say a student’s academics have nothing to do with their weight…you’re right.
Getting a job (or not) in the real world has a lot to do with your weight.
Heed the warning of the University, they’re looking out for your best interest.
Sorry, that’s the way it is. Good luck.
Debi, you have 200,300,400 pound students in those classrooms, how can you blame a university for finally taking the initiative to do something for these fat people.
In addition, these fat people really do want to be a size 6, they just don’t know how to get there.
The university taking the stand is a start. And, the people who lose weight because of the requirements will feel so much better and they’ll be forever greatful to the university for making them drop the weight.
This is where things are headed if you follow the Hollywood crowd!!! You must fix their idea of fix….
Now we can all look like supermodels. You know that I just left concentration camp look they all worship!!!
I think its funny to read all these comments, as a person who has NEVER been small even as a little girl, I can tell those of you who are 98 pounds and skinny that its not all about eating too much. It doesnt matter what i do i dont lose weight, and at 20 years old i dont think its because i got to old before i started to care. The best part of this is that youre all worried about cost of insurance but when fat people cant get a job because they didnt go to school theyll get medical card and YOUR tax dollars will pay for it. Ha youre winning that fight now arent you?? I agree completely that people need to learn at a young age how to eat healthy and i HATE being overweight but not allowing people to graduate is discrimination and is wrong. I dont intend to let my kids eat mcdonalds every meal and live on coke and fried food but ill never NEVER be mean to them, or let anyone else be mean to them, due to their weight regardless of whether theyre too skinny too big or perfect. What a wonderful world right?? And were supposed to be proud to be american when this is what america stands for?
First as an overall comment to these “educators” what gives you the F********* right to decide what MY health and comfort level is. Answer: Your inability to accept the fact that you are not Gods and have no right to dictate the destiny of another human being, though this will never sink through your thick self centered souls.
Second, to quote James L. DeBoy, chairman of Lincoln’s department of health, “We as health educators are responsible for students’ total well-being, not just academic and cognitive, but physical and social.
No you are not, as educators you are responsible for what happens to a student above the neck, past that you are impressing your opinions and views upon another person, directly violating that persons given right to make their own decisions in choosing their own destiny big or small. In a true democratic world your only right is to offer the choice, but the result of that belongs to the person receiving those choices, NOT the person offering the choice.
If you dont like it, go to a different university. There is nothing wrong with then requiring a fitness class.
However, there public relations person fell down on the job. Instead of saying those with a BMI of 30 or higher must take a fitness class they should have said, Everyone is a required to take the fitness class but if you have a BMI of less that 30 you are exempt. It is always better for public relations to appear to be rewarding the good. The way they did it, its like they are punishing people that are over weight.
What most of the protestors do not know is that an obes person will not get hired by a major company if the company has a chioce. Grossly obese people are un-insurable, there for cannot work for a company without benefits ( medical coverage). Sad truth is, obese people are sick more often, and longer than average weight people. And the truth is, a company hires a person to show up for work, not be home sick.
Lincoln is a predominatly Black school, and are very aware of the up-hill climb many of their graduates will face. Doing something to give them a better edge is a positive thing. And now thaT THE POLICY IS IN PLACE, THE OBESE HAVE THE OPTION NOT TO ENROLL.
In some cases, a BMI is not a good indicator of fitness. I don’t remember the exact numbers, but, at one point in my life, the BMI chart told me I was obese, and I was pulling 4 mile runs in under 30 minutes, could bench 250 lbs and squat around 450 lbs. I believe these to be numbers generally put up by those who are considered healthy.
But, I do concede the point that the schools are trying to look out for those who are in danger because of their weight ( a 30 BMI is quite high).
If a student cannot make the required BMI, they must take a class. This class should be manditory for all students,not just those with high BMIs, if the school feels committed to helping their students with health issues.
Many people I knew in Highschool and college had good BMIs but led very, very unhealthy lifestyles.
Thin is in people !
Fat is sick !
Really fat people are sicker then thin.
This class requirement should be started the first year of school and never stopped !
Don’t yell at me, I’m over wieght too and fighting it every day !!!!!!
The over all idea of fitness is a good one, although I disagree with this BMI qualification for graduation from a college. Health issues take up a big reason for the weight of thousands of people, young and old. I know of many patients who have come into the clinic with such a low metabolism, and they are not eating much at all, yet gaining weight. These people are young and older. Many of you are lumping those people into a “fat and lazy” (your words) catagory. There is a more realistic picture here than what some of you are looking at. Some of you have made comments that indicate it is all food related. This is not the issue we see in our clinic. There are many reasons why so many people are heavy. Again, yes I agree with fitness programs. I additionally see a need for thorough physical workups. Is this college going to pay for those workups in this program? Is this weight issue going to be examined from all perspectives, on an individual basis? This needs to be examined from a medical/clinical/nutritional view as well as exercise only.
I think this is terrible. Has anyone been to college? Last I knew you were struggling to eat and sleep because of the work load. I havent met one person who didnt gain some weight in college. I myself lived on Ramen noodles. Maybe if the university is so worried about over weight students, they need to offer healthy meals at a reasonable price. And lighten the work load so kids arent as stressed so they loose sleep and gain weight.
Here we go again.This has got to be one of the most ludicrous college requirements I’ve ever heard suggested. Does this institution really think one semester is going to make a REAL difference in the lives of their students? Give me a break already. Behavior modification does not occur in a few short months.Overeaters generally have addictive tendencies, just as the smoker, the alcoholic, and the corner junkie. Do you honestly believe you could modify any of the other addicts with just a few short months of conditioning?
It’s beat up on “fatties” year. Lets penalize all the fat people in America for being food junkies.
Next year, lets go after the ugly people. The following year, let’s let the insurance companies decide. They do anyways. *wink*
THis is plain WRONG!!!! This along with other states wanted to pass a “fat tax” on state workers that weigh a certain amount. This IS NOT the way to help the obesity rate in this country and will only make it worse. If I were one of those students at this university, I would refuse to take the class and find other means of physical activity!!!! All of these acts of discrimination and stereotyping of fat people is disgusting!!! Don’t buy into it. This is what is going to send our country backwards in time. Soon, if you aren’t blue-eyed and blonde-haired, 5’10 and a size two is what is going to be the standard again and thats pathetic!!! All of you who are pro- discrimination are an embarressment to this country!!!
this is going to make obesity worse? your logic is astounding. how will it do that? depression binge eating? c’mon get real the relief on the medical system will be enough to make a program like this worth it.
Everyone should have to take the class… it’s not right to discriminate on the basis of BMI.
As quoted, “Students must either have a body mass index(BMI) of below 30 (a BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese) or complete a one-semester “Fitness For Life” class.” This strong arm approach can only make the problem worst. Instead work to raise awareness as one of many positive answers. In my book Not Your Mother’s Diet, I state many myths about dieting and go on with many tips and tools to help one grasp the source of their ‘empty self’ and then offer many ways to begin to change for a more balance and healthy weight for each individual.
Depending on how the ‘Fitness for Life’ Class is presented, it could become popular with the students and that could tell the administration how effective the professor was. I know this problem can be handled in a more creative and effective way.