Comments on: No college degree for overweight students without fitness class

By: Chula

Chula — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:59:38 +0000

Has anyone been watching the Biggest Loser series? These brave individuals have taken us step by step through their transformation. Without the support and deep concern of their coaches, who refused to except their excuses, they would not have done the necessary things to lose weight and restore their health. However, before they crossed the line of apathy to gotta-do-something, they were sitting on the couch convinced there was nothing they could do about their situation. In this case, it is clear they first had to agree to participate, then endure the pressure. It seems we all agree obesity is certainly interwoven with self image; as such, it can be a terrible cycle that seems insurmountable. Sometimes forcing a person to accept the truth, face it and do something about it is the only way to get a person to face the reality of their situation.

By: Lauren H.

Lauren H. — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:05:23 +0000

While Rowley brings up a good point that BMI isn’t the only indicator of overall health or quality of life, I strongly believe that college is a great time to develop and hone important fitness and wellness habits. I think students should have more options to complete the fitness and wellness requirement, instead of having to fulfill a class requirement. University recreation centers have multiple facilities, programs, and events that students can use to lead healtier lifestyles.
Encouraging students to participate in intramural sports, group exercise classes, or walking incentive programs can have social, emotional, and psychological benefits in addition to physical benefits.

By: live.love.eat.

live.love.eat. — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:19:16 +0000

@roekest Please don’t just use “liberal” as an offensive term (this goes the same for “republican” or “conservative”) you are just being stereotypical. I dont mean to pick on you but its “lose” not ‘”loose” sorry. However, I do agree that institution shouldn’t have made it mandatory. It was a nice idea, but it was poorly executed. We all learn from mistakes.

By: Tony

Tony — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:15:02 +0000

There are so many other more productive ways this university could spend its time and energy. It is scary to think that we are coming very close to legislating against obesity. Liberty is dying a slow death in our nation and many of us are just sitting back watching for its last breath.

By: HB

HB — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:17:31 +0000

This is ridiculous. Weight is not the only indicator of good or poor health. For that matter, BMI isn’t even the only indicator of what is a healthy weight — athletes often have a high BMI because their muscle mass gives them a high weight to height ratio. If the university is concerned with health ed, then they should consider it a priority for ALL students, not just those who are currently overweight, and mandate the course for all. Emory, for example, requires 4 semesters of health and fitness courses as part of the core curriculum. Their focus is on emphasizing a healthy lifestyle for all students, rather than on judging student health based on only one indicator.

By: Roekest

Roekest — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:09:24 +0000

Typical Liberal response: go for the insult instead of using a well-thought argument. And you people see yourselves as more enlightened than conservatives…….. Now THAT’S irony.

By: Eat2live

Eat2live — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:48:02 +0000

@Roekast, you live to complain about the government. Give it a rest already.

@Samantha, shut your pie hole!

By: Roekest

Roekest — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:06:22 +0000

It’s scary to hear people calling this a “good idea”. It’s a good idea to loose weight. It’s NOT a good idea for an institution to mandate that people loose weight……….or else. It’s a personal choice, not the government’s.

You Sheeple are just waiting for the gov’t to tell you how to live your lives, aren’t you? Pathetic automotrons. Start thinking for yourselves before you let the government strip you of all your freedoms (like the freedom to recycle or the freedom to only shop at Whole Foods). God, you people make me sick…..

By: Sarge

Sarge — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 01:22:16 +0000

Sam, I couldn’t agree more on the issue of health effects relative to self-image, however, I’m convinced that the university leadership has done the right thing in establishing a “point of departure” insofar as health awareness is concerned. Dinasaurs, like myself, will recall an era when physical education was a staple of American, both within the school and the neighborhood. Quite possibly, the early stumblings of initiatives, such as that demonstrated at Lincoln, may someday lead to a restoration of physical health and awareness throughout our Nation. Will some of the social costs you mention be exacerbated? In the short run, probably so…however, given the stats you have quoted on eating disorders, one would feel that we had better start somewhere.

By: Samantha

Samantha — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 09:54:11 +0000

Personally, I’m appalled with this new policy.
Two out of three Americans are obese, and you know what? I don’t give a shit. What concerns me is the hype surrounding it. Our culture has become grossly obsessed with weight, and the nonstop focus on overweight citizens isn’t helping. Every day, Americans are reminded that being fat indicates a lack of discipline, whereas being thin means just the opposite. Discipline is supposed to play a huge role in success, and if success is supposed to significantly shape our happiness, we better not even think about eating dessert. Brainwashed, we identify our chance of accomplishment and sense of self-worth by a number on the bathroom scale.
Perhaps the supervisors of Lincoln University do not intend to support the notion that thinner is better, but that’s exactly what they’re doing. It would have been one thing if nutrition and fitness courses became a prerequisite for every student attending, but they singled out the overweight students, and if for whatever reason those who qualify for the class don’t want to take it, they will not be allowed to graduate. In other words, they cannot move up to the next level in life, and those kinds of consequences have the power to cause plenty of them to associate personal advancement with lower body mass.
I know from personal experience what it is to believe that you have to be thin before you can do anything else valuable. It is possible to hate yourself so much that you will begin to channel it into the way you live, and specifically, the way you eat. Thin people are idolized in this country. In 1996, it was reported that the diet-related industry rakes in over $40 billion a year, and in 2003, the National Eating Disorders Association revealed that the number of anorexic females between the ages of 15 and 19 has steadily increased with each decade since 1930, while the number of bulimic females aged 10 – 29 has tripled between 1988 and 1993. I think it’s fair to assume a connection. Lincoln University officials may be attempting to “address the obesity epidemic head-on” with its new exclusive curriculum, but in turn, they are flat-out ignoring the harmful, and often fatal, health effects of negative self-image.