<p>I don’t workout at all and I could gain 20 pounds and still be normal weight. Nerd FTW :)</p>
<p>Do any UC’s have these? That’s strage; I’ve never heard of college fitness checks.</p>
<p>Re: BMI</p>
<p>BMI works in population studies in rich countries because few people are muscular athletes and the like. But it does not work so well for individual assessment because some people are muscular athletes (although some of them are also fat) – and the university student age population tend to have more of the muscular athletes than the general adult population.</p>
<p>Perhaps a simple method that works better than BMI is to check that waist circumference at the navel is less than half of one’s height. (Clothing sizes are not reliable due to vanity sizing – even in men’s clothes.)</p>
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<p>And if it’s not, then I am too short?? ;)</p>
<p>My dd’s college she will attend still has a swim test. The college is on the water and they don’t want the kids taking out the boats that can not swim. </p>
<p>After reading the article, the college is not just measuring BMI. They are helping the kids evaluate their fitness level and then giving them the tools to help them live healthier lifestyles. Many of these kids don’t
work out or eat healthy. Some have never been taught how to do it.
Sure it is personal choice but the students have personal choice to do something or not do something about their lifestyles. They will atleast be told how healthy or not they are by their fitness level.</p>
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<p>Except when the rest of us have to pay higher taxes to cover ever increasing medical costs…</p>
<p>Or get stuck on a plane or bus where one person takes their seat and half of mine…</p>
<p>"Except when the rest of us have to pay higher taxes to cover ever increasing medical costs…</p>
<p>Or get stuck on a plane or bus where one person takes their seat and half of mine… "</p>
<p>Okay, then what about the students who smoke? Should they have a mandatory anti-tobacco class?</p>
<p>How about the students who have frequent (and possibly unprotected) sex? A mandatory sex-ed class?</p>
<p>And the students who drink (and possibly abuse) alcohol? A mandatory anti-alcohol seminar… oh wait we already have those. But EVERYONE has to attend.</p>
<p>If there’s going to be a mandatory class about health and fitness EVERYONE should have to take it. Just because someone can run a mile in under 8min or do 15 push-ups doesn’t mean they know jack **** about how to take care of themselves.</p>
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<p>Well that’s the price you pay for socialized health care (which we don’t really even have yet that’s still an issue). </p>
<p>Big10Champ +100000</p>
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<p>The country is already turning into a non-smoking area… </p>
<p>Who said ONLY fat people should take the class???</p>
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<p>Check your facts…</p>
<p>1) Our medical system is already partially socialized (EMTALA) and…
2) Obama didn’t push socialized medicine he pushed single payer medicine. Big difference.</p>
<p>I meant that we don’t have a full-on national healthcare service a la Britain, Germany, Japan etc.</p>
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good thing too. secondhand smoke gives me a sore throat and makes me pass out.</p>
<p>as long as I can smoke in my car and my backyard and at a business that chooses to allow it</p>
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<p>Actually, we have long had socialized medical insurance for the elderly (who have the most expensive medical bills, increased by whatever unhealthy habits they had when younger). And most of the rest of medical costs are not seen directly by the user, since they are paid by third parties. Yes, you can argue that you pay for it eventually, but not seeing or paying the costs directly blunts the user’s self-rationing impulse that occurs in normal markets.</p>
<p>BMI is a good tool. Not perfect but good. Assuming the colleges do the assessments with some face-to-face component, I don’t think the muscled folks need to worry.
I like the idea of requiring some form of exercise freshman year in particular to get kids out of their rooms and to help them release stress. It’s also a good point to start exploring activities to find a ‘life sport’ - something that you will do after college to stay in shape. Doesn’t need to be a traditional sport - colleges offer things like mountain biking, ballroom dancing, hiking, etc.
If my college hadn’t offered “swimming for the non-swimmer”, I still won’t know how.</p>
<p>But you have to take care of yourself, for God and Country. It’s your fair share, just like taxes. You don’t want to be a corporate jet owner do you?!</p>
<p>I find it funny that they make you run/walk only ONE mile; let’s be honest, this is very easy to do</p>
<p>I think people need to calm down, it seems like the tests are very basic, and doable by anyone</p>
<p>Meh. College is a choice, not a birthright. If someone doesn’t like the rules and conditions a school sets they can go somewhere else, I certainly wouldn’t attend BYU.</p>
<p>You do have a choice. A choice not to go to that college.</p>
<p>Not sure how exercising is somehow a partisan issue.</p>
<p>But that’s beyond the point. I agree that this probably shouldn’t be forced on students. College is about majoring in a subject you want to learn. I have not heard of a high school that does not require PE/health. You learn about exercise in high school. I doubt seminar or course in college will change their lifestyle when they did the same stuff already. It’s their choice to life healthy or not. But as others said, those who don’t like it don’t need to attend that school.</p>
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<p>You explained my opinion a lot better than I could.</p>