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<p>in the vast majority of cases, a fit person gaining fifteen pounds would not result in their BMI surpassing 30. (yes, we all know about the very rare person who is super-fit and muscular and whose BMI signals that s/he is obese, but that is not typical…)</p>
<p>“That said, I’m from the “pick your battles” school of education … and this particular battle isn’t worth picking IMHO.”</p>
<p>Agreed. Suppose that this policy is stupid and destructive. It’s still foolish and wasteful to throw away four years of hard work and sacrifice over one easy class. Take the class, graduate, and then use your status as an alum to pressure the school to change the rules.</p>
<p>Being physically fit is probably as important as being mentally fit. This sounds like a good policy. People are too sensitive.</p>
<p>“Obesity is a national health issue.”</p>
<p>The only national health issue most collegeconfidential people care about is how to get the government more involved in your health care so it runs as smoothly as the post office. The only way to get them behind this exercise policy is to claim that heavy people eat more and give off more heat, therefore each of them has a carbon footprint almost as big as Al Gore’s private jet.</p>
<p>This is utterly, utterly ridiculous. While I do concur that Lincoln has a right to set it’s own policy and these kids knew coming in what the policy was, my point is the policy is utterly, utterly ridiculous.</p>
<p>You can not single out those freshman with BMI’s over 30 for the fat kids class. If you want to force this class requirement on everyone, thats fine. but to force it on a group based on their weight is very, very wrong.</p>
<p>Teistedkiss - you made a great point with</p>
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<p>Should Lincoln make everyone who smokes be required to take a smoking cessation class?</p>
<p>How about those who drink - should they be forced to take AA classes?</p>
<p>etc, etc</p>
<p>And as a couple others pointed out - what about those who came in with BMI’s under 30 but are now over 30.</p>
<p>This is a poorly designed and executed policy</p>
<p>Schmaltz, the government is ALREADY involved in health care. Unhealthy people are flooding emergency rooms (because they are fat, whatever). If you think that you are not paying at a local level for bad public policy (lack of universal governmental healthcare) you are deluding yourself. You may not like Al Gore’s jet or the post office (I just sent a letter today and liked being able to put it in my mailbox) those are unrelated, red herrings.</p>
<p>Why does the biggest issue always have to be whose feelings will be hurt? They’ve got a bunch of heavyweights and they are doing something about it. And not with just a “give them a class on it” approach…actual exercise. Good for them. Just because they are addressing the fat issue, it doesn’t mean they have to solve the smoking, drinking, drug, and sex issues too.</p>
<p>Agree with Schmaltz that this an issue worthy of University concern. Don’t these overweight students drive up the price of health insurance (if it’s required by the University) for everyone else. It’s time to make people/students personally accountable! Pay or exercise!!!</p>
<p>Actually, I don’t see anything wrong with what this school is doing. Obesity is becoming epidemic. Some people don’t really understand that it’s primarily all about calories in and calories burned, that there’s no “magic pill” that will do it for you, and obesity goes hand in hand with chronic problems like diabetes and high blood pressure and a host of other problems…if the school can help just a handful of kids make better life choices and the kids know that it is part of the package of attending then it’s not wrong. BMI isn’t a perfect measure but face it, big bones won’t get you to that BMI. Political correctness has absolutely nothing to do with it.</p>
<p>This is silly. Either give it to everyone, or no one. BMI is not the litmus test for fitness like the TOEFL is for English! Some high BMI people are very fit, some very thin people are not remotely fit. </p>
<p>Great idea for the whole school…but singling out some out for remediation using a ‘test’ that isn’t related to the remediation is nonsensical.</p>
<p>I think Lincoln should require major fitness classes for ALL its students EVERY semester, no matter their BMI, family history, tendency to pork out during the holidays :). That way, this whole topic becomes a non-issue and the Lincoln students have at least a fighting chance to stay at or approach some good height/weight proportions.</p>
<p>But a different way to look at this - if everyone is required to take the course then they (or their parents) have to pay for that course. That means that even athletes and those studying nutrition, etc. would be obliged to pay for a course that’s of no value to them. Let the college focus on educating them at a college level rather than attempt behavioral modification that has nothing to do with their major or career. Forcing them to take a class like this is like putting them back to the 9th/10th grade level.</p>
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<p>How is it any different than “university studies” or gen-ed requirements?</p>
<p>^^ Because it’s not related to their academic education as are the courses you indicated and those courses are likely requirements for everyone - it’s just an attempt to get them to reduce weight since they’re only requiring it of the students considered obese according to their BMI although it’s still unknown how the college would actually know what the student’s BMI is. There are many colleges including many top colleges that don’t require PE classes.</p>
<p>And you can always refuse to be weighed. The urgent care doctor didn’t weigh my sister when she refused. And she’s not even legally an adult. There’s nothing the university can do to compel you to be weighed. No judge would give them that court order.</p>
<p>I see nothing wrong in addressing a group with a known health risk, and offering them an educational fix (and yes, learning to exercise is an educational endeavor: adopting the habit of of exercise IS a learning process).</p>
<p>All that thinking of Plato is pointless if you are slated to stroke out at 23, and this (obesity) is becoming a national epidemic.</p>
<p>I saw some absolutely shocking statistics yesterday about the cost of health care related to obesity including the costs of all the bariatric surgeries. Shocking. An enormous amount of money has been spent in education etc. on the risks of cigarettes, alcohol and other self induced related health issues but we’re “too afraid” and “too worried about being PC these dayss” to address obese people directly. Whether or not this college is going about it in the best way or not to me is not the issue, the fact that they are attempting to do something with what amounts to a higher risk group should be celebrated not scorned.</p>
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<p>I was required to take English 101, despite the fact that I already knew all the material presented in that class. Students are required to take classes that are useless to them all the time. People familiar with nutrition will breeze through that course and not have to spend much time on it. Easy A!</p>
<p>Maybe Lincoln subscribes to the Athenian ideal of a sound mind in a sound body. If so, a reasonable case could be made for the BMI graduation requirement. But if they just want kids to look svelte in their caps and gowns, then it’s all nonsense. It depends on how that insititution defines its legitimate educational goals.</p>
<p>I’d agree that if “they just want kids to look svelte in their caps and gowns, then it’s all nonsense.” as Coureur says in post 59.
But I’d add that requiring a course on a healthier lifestyle OR opting out by choosing to test one’s bmi seems to me to be well within the rights of a college-whatever their reason. Even if it is all nonsense.
When that is a requirement for graduation, and a student selects that school, well then they are expected to meet that requirement. This is no A.D.A. thing- students don’t have to test an eye chart or climb an 8 foot wall; this is the students’ option, take the class or test out.</p>