Lose Weight or Don't Graduate
By: Nancy Howard,
SparkPeople Blogger
12/2/2009 5:51 AM
: 330 comments
: 14,853 Views
A handful of college students slated to graduate this spring may not be getting their diplomas after all. And it isn't because they did not meet their academic requirements to graduate, but because they failed to take a class to help them lose weight and get fit.
In 2006, Lincoln University, an institution just an hour's drive southwest of Philadelphia, established a new graduation requirement for the class of 2010--those entering the university with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater would be required to take a "Fitness for Life" class before graduation or risk not graduating. The class meets three times a week for a semester where students participate in aerobic activities, learn about nutrition and other healthy lifestyle habits.
As many of us are fully aware, we have an obesity problem in this country. But should universities and colleges initiate such drastic measures to force their students to lose weight and get healthy? Basically telling these students, lose weight or risk not graduating, even if you exceed academically.
As a parent to a senior in college, I am paying for her to get an education in academia. I am not paying for the university to deem my daughter unhealthy based on a flawed and archaic means of determining one's health and fitness--the body mass index. Studies have shown that the body mass index is not accurate for many, especially younger individuals, as the BMI cannot distinguish between fat and lean body mass. According to Michigan State University professor of kinesiology and epidemiology, Dr. Jim Pivarnik, "BMI should be used cautiously when classifying fatness, especially among college-age people.”
In all fairness, Lincoln University did make it known to their incoming freshman class three years ago that if they failed to meet the BMI guidelines and did not take the required class, their graduation could be deferred. I believe three years was more than enough time for these students to get busy and lose the weight or take the class.
However, I still wonder why an institute for higher learning is basing a student's graduation eligibility on a number that is still up for debate as to its accuracy. To use the BMI as the sole benchmark for measuring health seems a tad unfair.
My biggest question would be, why isn't this class a requirement for every student? What about the smoker who may have a normal BMI yet indulges in a very unhealthy habit? What about the underage drinker or the student who eats a high fat, high sodium diet yet still has a healthy BMI? These students are all exempted from taking the class even though their habits are just as, if not more so, unhealthy as those carrying around a few extra pounds.
When I attended college over 25 years ago, EVERY student, regardless of their degree plan, was required to take 4 hours of physical education classes, whether it was a golf, tennis, swimming or even a dance class. You had to take and pass the class to graduate. Each class counted as one credit hour with the final grade being factored into our GPA.
And this is what I feel Lincoln University is missing--they are isolating a faction of students when they should require ALL students to take the class. All students could greatly benefit by learning how to integrate healthy habits into their lives now before they get so engrossed that it becomes more difficult to change. Health cannot be measured by numbers alone, but by the choices we make and the knowledge we gain from others .
How do you feel about a university making such requirements? Would this be a bigger issue if this university was a public institution setting these standards? If the students knew the consequences of not losing weight or taking the class, do they have a still have a valid complaint with the university?
In 2006, Lincoln University, an institution just an hour's drive southwest of Philadelphia, established a new graduation requirement for the class of 2010--those entering the university with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater would be required to take a "Fitness for Life" class before graduation or risk not graduating. The class meets three times a week for a semester where students participate in aerobic activities, learn about nutrition and other healthy lifestyle habits.
As many of us are fully aware, we have an obesity problem in this country. But should universities and colleges initiate such drastic measures to force their students to lose weight and get healthy? Basically telling these students, lose weight or risk not graduating, even if you exceed academically.
As a parent to a senior in college, I am paying for her to get an education in academia. I am not paying for the university to deem my daughter unhealthy based on a flawed and archaic means of determining one's health and fitness--the body mass index. Studies have shown that the body mass index is not accurate for many, especially younger individuals, as the BMI cannot distinguish between fat and lean body mass. According to Michigan State University professor of kinesiology and epidemiology, Dr. Jim Pivarnik, "BMI should be used cautiously when classifying fatness, especially among college-age people.”
In all fairness, Lincoln University did make it known to their incoming freshman class three years ago that if they failed to meet the BMI guidelines and did not take the required class, their graduation could be deferred. I believe three years was more than enough time for these students to get busy and lose the weight or take the class.
However, I still wonder why an institute for higher learning is basing a student's graduation eligibility on a number that is still up for debate as to its accuracy. To use the BMI as the sole benchmark for measuring health seems a tad unfair.
My biggest question would be, why isn't this class a requirement for every student? What about the smoker who may have a normal BMI yet indulges in a very unhealthy habit? What about the underage drinker or the student who eats a high fat, high sodium diet yet still has a healthy BMI? These students are all exempted from taking the class even though their habits are just as, if not more so, unhealthy as those carrying around a few extra pounds.
When I attended college over 25 years ago, EVERY student, regardless of their degree plan, was required to take 4 hours of physical education classes, whether it was a golf, tennis, swimming or even a dance class. You had to take and pass the class to graduate. Each class counted as one credit hour with the final grade being factored into our GPA.
And this is what I feel Lincoln University is missing--they are isolating a faction of students when they should require ALL students to take the class. All students could greatly benefit by learning how to integrate healthy habits into their lives now before they get so engrossed that it becomes more difficult to change. Health cannot be measured by numbers alone, but by the choices we make and the knowledge we gain from others .
How do you feel about a university making such requirements? Would this be a bigger issue if this university was a public institution setting these standards? If the students knew the consequences of not losing weight or taking the class, do they have a still have a valid complaint with the university?
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Comments
My college years were my most active. I'm sure that those Freshman 15 that I gained were due to the open flat fee meal plan my college had plus the wonderful variety of food to choose from. I didn't even fill up on soda at every meal like some of my friends (nor was I binge drinking). No, I could suddenly have as much orange juice or apple juice as I wanted to drink, which was not the case as I was growing up. And we all know how many calories juice has when you're drinking it in 12 ounce increments. I thought I was making a healthy choice of beverage. Not to mention all the other food choices.
I was eating enough calories that they were not counteracted by the thousands of steps I was walking back and forth across campus. I'm sure that 10,000 steps was probably a daily minimum. Yet at the beginning of my senior year, I suddenly found that I'd gained 30 lbs since graduating from high school. I wasn't 30 BMI yet, but the habits had been made. I saw a dietician, changed my behavior, and lost 15 pounds. Then I graduated (and discovered the wonders of gaming online). I got a desk job. Evenings were spent in from of the computer. The next time I blinked, I'd gained 25 lbs. Lost some. Gained more. About 10 years after graduating from college, I hit that 30 BMI.
Under the Lincoln plan, I wouldn't have had to take the class. But it would've been immensely useful, especially to take it as a freshman.
You look around a college campus and you see all the incredibly fit bodies running around, venti caramel mochas with whip cream in hand, etc. Their metabolisms haven't slowed yet. They're still putting hours of activity in. (I guess that just running between classes and dorm/cafeteria probably racked up 4 miles/day for me those many years ago without any side trips and doesn't count the lugging of a backpack full of books, etc.)
Then boom. Graduation coincides with a metabolism drop for many. You get a full time desk job. Add commuting time. Add stress (I thought I knew what stress was as a student, but that was nothing compared to modern job downsizing stress). Those kids who never gained an ounce, never had a problem with weight, never thought they'd have a problem with weight, never thought they needed to learn how to not gain weight...Weight becomes a problem. Maybe not all of them, but I would think most of them.
This is a class that needs to be required for everyone. Life Skills. Start in elementary school with the simple concepts. Add to it in middle school. Add to it more in high school. Add to it even more in college. Stress Management would be very important in the high school and college class. But the very underlying concept of all would be Cause and Effect, which is something I notice a lot of kids not understanding as of late. This behavior (overeating/eating junk/being a couch potato) leads to weight gain, which increases risk of disease. The simple concepts that even teen athletes may not realize. When you’re no longer on the basketball team, the track team, the cross country team or whatever team that the training that made it so you could eat 8000 calories a day and burn it all, you need to change your eating habits and drop the amount of calories you're eating. I know that it would not make it so everyone stayed fit and trim, but maybe it would slow the weight gain and reverse the trends a little. Make a light at the end of the tunnel that isn’t a train.
But here is a little hope for the future: One of my coworkers recently took his 8 year old son hiking. The response once they were out in the middle of the forest? “This is WAAYY more fun than playing Xbox!”
- 4/7/2011 5:50:35 PM
I would even support a mandatory health education and fitness class in the name of well roundedness, but to not graduate a student based on their BMI? -- That absolutely crosses the line into a bias that has no place in an educational institution. - 1/26/2011 9:55:52 AM
This really hits my hot button....you can tell ;) - 5/13/2010 7:09:36 AM
With the legend of the "freshman 15" weight gain, all students have something to learn about proper nutrition and fitness. It is also important that they learn about healthy livingm tackling issues such as smoking and drinking. If the school decides to award a special cord or sash for those who make the BMI requirement then they should go ahead but I dont believe any student should be barred from graduation because of weight. - 4/7/2010 6:36:03 PM
fitness for life should be a course for everyone. its shouldnt be restricted to people with Bmi's above 30. some people with bmi's above 30 live healthy lives while some people with bmi's below live very unhealthy lives. the course should be a general course as it is beneficial to everyone - 2/10/2010 5:14:18 AM
...what they're doing is not only misguided, it's wrong. I agree with other commenters that say it's a discriminatory practice.
First, it makes the assumption that everyone with recommended BMI is making positive choices, and everyone who doesn't have the recommended is making poor choices. What about people with glandular issues? What about those with larger frames? What about people who are genetically predisposed to being overweight? Some people can understand and make all the right choices and still not have an "ideal" BMI.
Second, while I like the idea of promoting "whole body health," a person's weight or health has nothing to do with their academic success. A person can be obese and still extremely intelligent, still extremely successful in the workplace, and still a valuable contribution to society. It's within a college's role to teach people to take care of themselves, but NOT in their role to *require* them to.
And finally, living a healthy lifestyle for any extended period of time usually requires the internalization of your goals. I don't believe HAVING to lose weight in order to pass school will lead to adequate internalization. Doing something because you HAVE to, and doing something because you WANT to lead to two very different mindsets. I think it will be much harder to sustain the healthy lifestyle choices that are essentially forced on you than those you choose for yourself. - 2/5/2010 10:18:40 AM
I feel it would be more productive to have everyone take the course or make it an option. Plus, like they said....BMI isn't usually accurate for college students.
How sad to pay to be called fat when all you wanted to do was be educated. - 1/26/2010 4:29:50 PM
By the way, when I was in college in my teens, I was thin. I was very thin. I was dealing with eating disorders. According to this article I would get my degree because I was thin. Forget that I wasn't healthy, that I didn't eat and that I worked out constantly - I was thin. If that's the only requirement, heaven help us. Thin doesn't necessary equal fit and healthy; overweight doesn't necessary equal unhealthy and lazy. Discrimination has no place in a school of higher learning. - 1/11/2010 3:59:59 PM
Is the course a good idea? I think yes, it should be offered, but not required. Furthermore, a school has no business requiring a student to meet certain physical criteria to graduate. It's an academic institution! How many in the faculty fall within the BMI guidelines that the school requires of the students? - 1/5/2010 10:25:44 AM
As a college prof., I know the powerful incentive of earning a passing grade (let alone graduation!) but if the grade depends on achieving a healthy BMI, rather than demonstrating that one understands both the problem and its solution, then the motivation is wrong, and the dangers outweigh the benefits (sorry for the pun). - 12/26/2009 1:30:55 PM
- 12/21/2009 10:35:23 AM
That said, like many others, I think that all students should be required to take a phys. ed. class of some sort. If required for all it might make a difference. - 12/19/2009 5:10:08 PM
2. I find it discrimination against healthy, hard working individuals when I (we) have to pay for those who have health problems due to weight issues to sit at home because they can not work....that's discrimination. - 12/18/2009 10:41:32 PM
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