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All freshmen this year [at Coker College] will take a mandatory "fitness assessment," in which they will - among other things - receive their body mass index (BMI) score, which measures body fat; do a one-mile run/walk; and see how many push-ups and sit-ups they can do in a few minutes. If time permits, the students may also do curl-ups, trunk lifts, and beep tests, in which they run back and forth between two cones at increasingly quick speeds.
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<p>The regimen may be different, but this sounds like the olden days required (and sometimes rigorous) PhysEd.</p>
<p>BMI works for the average Joe but a fair amount of college students are into weightlifting. A person with low body fat but lots of muscle would register as overweight or even obese if they’re a bodybuilder. </p>
<p>I’m glad my college doesn’t have that crap lol. Another weird one is Columbia, they make you do a swimming test for god knows what reason. </p>
<p>I think as long as a school doesn’t require a certain BMI to graduate, gym class, even one that’s required, is okay.</p>
<p>That being said, with a few exceptions, everyone at college is at least 18 years old. If these adults want to eat fatty foods and not exercise, or eat healthfully and work out 5-6 days a week, or a combo of those and other life choices, that’s their business, not the school’s.</p>
<p>I don’t see a problem with it. I know a lot of people don’t realize what kind of shape they’re in until they get a reality check.</p>
<p>BMI is kind of an outdated system to judge body fat though. Like RioBravo said, a lot of people are into weightlifting, which skews the results.</p>
<p>Nothing wrong with fitness…you would be surprised how many people I saw at basic that couldn’t even do a sit-up. Like stated the BMI is pretty outdated, it requires you to have a specific body type in order for it to be correct…however it gives you a ball park number on where you should be.</p>
<p>A large number of colleges added swimming tests around WW2. Since the 70s , colleges have been dropping them. I think MIT is another one of the holdouts.</p>
<p>I just don’t see the point. Not to mention it gives me visions of a campus in which you can only have X slices of pizza per week, no sodas and absolutely no beers that are not under 100 calories per serving and no smoking either. Blech.</p>
<p>Well its all about balance…I was steadily losing weight and still eating whatever I wanted to…I just had to do enough working out to balance it out in the end.</p>
<p>There are colleges somewhat like that. BYU and other conservative/religious colleges have strict alcohol and other rules. I don’t see a problem with private institutions requiring whatever they want. I can choose not to pay them money.</p>
<p>It would tick me off if my school did this.</p>
<p>I’m a size 2, and one of the most in-shape girls I know (gymnast). But my bmi says I’m close to overweight. LOL.</p>
<p>As others have said, bmi doesn’t mean jack if you have a lot of muscle mass. And this school clearly doesn’t know what it’s doing if it wants to use bmi as a scale for anything.</p>
<p>"I’m one of the most in-shape girls I know. But my bmi says I’m close to overweight. "</p>
<p>Word. I work out for two hours a day (I know, I need a life), but my bmi says I need to drop 20 pounds, even though I would be nothing but bones and muscles if I did that. They need a new system that measures body fat, not weight.</p>
<p>^They have that…its just the BMI is easier for people to use since it only requires you to find out your height and weight…shows how lazy people are</p>