<p>I haven’t read all the posts, but “fat”, and “BMI” are not the same thing. BMI is not about appearance, it is about health. Some struggle with it more than others, akin to some struggling wiht reading or math. (If the issue presents itself before age eight, it is likely to be lifelong. Being so after age 18 puts you in a different risk group. )It is a disability that will have consequences, and at least an attempt at remediation seems like a good idea. Obesity is a huge problem among African Americans, more so than among Africans, and if I am not mistaken, throughout the rest of the diaspora. What’s that about? Where is a better place to study it? When is the best time to get “accomadations”? FWIW, there is less alchohol abuse among AA college students than there is among the general population of college students.</p>
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I agree with this even if I disagree with the appropriateness of requiring a PE class at the college level for only a subset of students based on their BMI. If it’s a known requirement and the student decides to go there anyway then it’s implied that they’ll accept the conditions.</p>
<p>btw - I’m not stating that a healthy lifestyle isn’t an appropriate choice in life. I work out for an hour every day and think it’s important - just not something that s/b required in a college curriculum for a subset of students based on their size.</p>
<p>One more point - for the majority of adult obese people I know, knowledge of why they’re obese and it’s potential impact on their health isn’t the issue since they know it. Most obese people know all the details of all the major diet programs more than most people. The issue is usually in actually deciding to make the correct choices and having the discipline to stick with it as a lifestyle. For many obese people psychological counseling might be more effective than basic nutrition/exercise education so they can get to the root of why they make the wrong decisions. For a small subset of these people they’d be better off seeking other medical advicde in the event they have some physical condition underlying their obesity.</p>
<p>Naturally - Yes, having to take any remedial courses one already knows is irritating and the college should do what it can to eliminate that requirement for those basic courses for those who already know the material. There’s much in the news lately about the escalating cost of education, tuition increases, budget issues, etc. so the more efficient a college can become, which includes not requiring students to take clearly remedial or non-academic courses, will help improve the situation for both the college and student (and paying parents).</p>
<p>“for the majority of adult obese people I know, knowledge of why they’re obese and it’s potential impact on their health isn’t the issue since they know it.”</p>
<p>True for many, but not most that I know. There is also a lot that isn’t common knowledge about improving your health. Lot’s of misconceptions and myth out there. Even LESS true for the 18 to 21 set, less still for the URM’s I know. Not ALL unique to the high BMI risk group, but I wonder if it’s not also a good opportunity to teach “thick” girls how to be okay with their bodies ( IMHO, most raised within their “own” communities seem to be), but still strive toward good health ( IMHO, most raised in their “own” communities do not have good role models for this.)</p>
<p>Here’s something going on for the men…
<a href=“http://www.blackbarbershop.org/[/url]”>http://www.blackbarbershop.org/</a></p>
<p>Shrinkrap:
So the majority of college-attending obese people 18 and over you know don’t realize that the particular food choices they’re making and lack of physical activity is likely the key to their obesity? What do they think it is then - all genetic that they can’t compensate for by lifestyle changes or something?</p>
<p>“One more point - for the majority of adult obese people I know, knowledge of why they’re obese and it’s potential impact on their health isn’t the issue since they know it.”</p>
<p>I don’t doubt that this is true among your friends, but it might not be true among Lincoln students. 90% of the students receive financial aid. Many of them are quite disadvantaged. If you grow up in a community where obesity is the norm, and all the adults in your family are obese, you might have very different ideas about what constitutes a healthy life…or about whether another kind of lifestyle is desirable or possible.</p>
<p>Hanna - your post and Shrinkrap’s post seem to present a case for that particular college requiring that course of all students or possibly with the ‘test-out’ option mentioned by another poster here as opposed to the ‘high BMI’ people only. There are some thin people who are equally or even more unhealthy if they’re not eating correctly or not exercising - it’s just that it’s less outwardly noticable than obesity. I wonder what other lifestyle/health courses they should require then due to the backgrounds of those attending? I guess I’d be a bit peeved if I was forced to take such courses at college after having had similar ones already in HS and the fact that the basic info is readily available and not difficult to understand but that’s just me. Do you suppose these people never had health or PE classes in HS or any courses that presented material on nutrition? If so, that’s a problem. Or do you think it was ineffective possibly due to their age or background? Again, just because a person is obese doesn’t mean they’re uneducated about obesity.</p>
<p>MIT requires every student to pass a swim test. This is a stated requirement (not sure why a swim test specifically, why not be able to show any physical proficiency? but anyway…)
I guess if the college was up front about it…</p>
<p>It’s not like they have a big sheet of plywood with a very narrow doorway cut into it with a sign that says “You Must Be This Thin to Graduate From Lincoln”…and if you can’t fit through there, you don’t get to graduate. But that might not be a bad idea if things don’t improve on the obesity front.</p>
<p>Hmmm…for some reason</p>
<p>… “One more point - for the majority of adult obese people I know, knowledge of why they’re obese and it’s potential impact on their health isn’t the issue since they know it.” </p>
<p>doesn’t mean the same thing to me as… </p>
<p>“don’t realize that the particular food choices they’re making and lack of physical activity is likely the key to their obesity?”</p>
<p>Also, I know only one obese 18 y.o. college student and she is near and dear to my heart. She sorta gets what are BAD food choices, but doesn’t understand why avoiding “red meat” has contributed to increased carbs, which with her genetic loading for insulin resistance, may put her at greater risk for weight gain, or at least elevated blood sugars. At times, she fancies herself “vegetarian”. She doesn’t get which food choices at her college are best, and still believes skipping meals, as opposed to many small meals, is a good choice. Some kids don’t get what KIND of activity gives the most relative bang for their specific bucks. Lots of young AND old people in my community don’t see all the health risks involved. </p>
<p>A few days ago, at the “Beauty Parlor”, a young man talked about how many kids meals his almost one year old could eat, and how much the kid liked cheese doodles. When someone suggested he shouldn’t feed his kid “junk food”, he said " you GOTTA find out what they like!"</p>
<p>I thought we were talking about “people I know”.</p>
<p>In my school the health class deals mainly with sex issues. How not to get pregnant, and drop out. And if you saw the food in our cafeteria you’d think macaroni and cheese was nutritious.</p>
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<p>I agree. But I also think that a University gets to decide its own graduation requirements, and if they choose to focus on obesity it does not require them to put equal emphasis on other unhealthy conditions or behaviors. Like those schools that choose to have a swimming test for graduation - they are not and should not be forced to also have tests for other sports or other forms of exercise.</p>
<p>^^ Yes but they probably don’t require the swim class for only those who ‘look like’ they wouldn’t be able to swim well.</p>
<p>^^It’s not based on looks. They don’t require the weight loss class for those with BMI under 30. You pass the BMI test and you’re good to go. BMI is an objective measurement that is considered valid and is widely used in the biomedical world. </p>
<p>At these other schools you pass the swimming test and you’re go to go. In either case it’s an arbitrary test not based on academic achievement. And as long as the requirement is not illegal in some way schools are within their rights to require it.</p>
<p>Shouldn’t kids under a certain BMI index be required to take the class too? Obesity is a bad health problem, but so is anorexia.</p>
<p>FWIW, anorexia is extremely rare in the African Amercian community…until we “assimilate”.</p>
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Yes - you’re right coureur. It wasn’t a good analogy.</p>
<p>Wasn’t all this health stuff covered in HIGH SCHOOL???</p>
<p>And if anyone is going to “teach” these kids about obesity and taking care of themselves and etc. it should be their family or doctor not the school.</p>
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<p>College is just an extension of high school in many ways…</p>
<p>Most colleges have a physical education requirement, mine is 1 credit hour. It is blatant discrimination if you require only students with a BMI of 30 and over to take this class while other students don’t have to. All students should be required or no students should be required. I know, I think they should have that BMI as a condition of employment at the school. I wonder how far that will get with the union.</p>
<p>I’m not sure what AirCooled is saying here…
The college grads will be seeking a job with a union? Do a lot of college grads do that?
Employers are choosing not to hire smokers more and more often as documentation shows generally they cost the company more. Discrimination? I’ve seen nothing in hiring laws or housing laws about heavy people being a protected class. A company might very well prefer people who are not obese. I am guessing about federal law, but heavy isn’t exactly a protected minority like race, ancestry, county of origin, and other things. It might be if it could be documented that the weight was a result of a specific medical problem, but not if it’s just a case of life choices.<br>
Air Cooled needs to remember too, that these are students that chose to attend this college with its pros and cons. There are many many other colleges that don’t require this.</p>