Health Controversy: This University Is Requiring Obese Students to Take Fitness Classes Before Graduating

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  Posted by another hockey fan Mon Nov 23, 2009 1:30pm PST

  A better/fair approach to cover ALL students is to make some form of exercise (whether it be tennis, soccer, gymnastics, aerobics, etc) be a requirement like any other class. I'm all for this idea, but do not like how it's being addressed. No one should be singled out.

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  Posted by Katie B Mon Nov 23, 2009 1:39pm PST

  Personally I think that ALL students should have PE credits before they graduated... At the Jr. College I graduated from before transferring, we were required to take 2 hours of PE... granted it could be 2 actually fitness classes or a 3 hour classroom class (like Officiating or CPR/First Aid) but we were ALL required to take them.

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  Posted by whatithink Mon Nov 23, 2009 1:39pm PST

  Pure discrimination--what of the person who has a medical problem--and when did weight become a government requirement to graduate? Might as well have a health or nutritional class mandated for ALL students when they enter college for the first two yrs.--All the students do not eat healthy in college and those classes would help everyone. Students need to point at the college staff also--if it's required that they take these classes to graduate, then the college staff must and should be fit themselves.

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  Posted by Debbie Mon Nov 23, 2009 1:42pm PST

  wow... I agree with the last comment. creating a fitness requirement for all students is alot fairer. weight is such a complex issue. it is not simply calories and exercise. there is a huge psychological component and you would think a university with a psychology department would realize that. I dont think anyone overweight would feel like they were being helped by a policy that basically said "hey fattie, slim down or you cant graduate"

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  Posted by Ginny Mon Nov 23, 2009 1:56pm PST

  I don't believe it is discrimination. They didn't intentionally do it to single out obese people. Basically the university is assuming the obese students don't have proper health ad fitness education and knowledge. So, in efforts trying to HELP the overweight students, they are requiring a fitness/health class. I don't believe it's a bad idea. Yes, maybe they should require ALL students to take the class, but at the moment they haven't got it "set up" yet.

  Okay, how many people whom are obese are overweight DUE to a health problem? And how many have developed health problems BECAUSE of their obesity?

  Yes, it may seem rude and "discriminatory" but seriously? If i were obese I would be GLAD they are MAKING me take a fitness class. It helps get you motivated and actually go face to face with your problem, not just ignore it. People need to understand being overweight isn't "okay". Of course everyone accepts people who are overweight, but not all times to the overweight persons accept themselves. And this my friends is that leads to morbid obesity. When you just ignore the factors and the situation.

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  Posted by Giz Mon Nov 23, 2009 2:22pm PST

  Obesity due to a medical issue amounts to about 1% of all obesity. More often, obesity causes the health problem and then we all pay for it in health insurance rate hikes. While I feel all students should have a core nutrition and fitness requirement and also feel that employers should be able to require a minimum fitness requirement (certain hours at the gym/participating in a physical activity per week, etc.) before providing insurance to employees, I don't see how this is a real issue. Stop whining and take a gym class. It's not that hard. In fact, it's easy credit if you participate to the best of your personal ability. Of course, using BMI is a bad way to measure obesity. Many hardcore athletes have a BMI in the range of being overweight/obese because of high muscle mass.

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  Posted by princess1 Mon Nov 23, 2009 2:46pm PST

  Was this a requirement for graduation before the students enrolled? Will it cost the students more in tuition to take the class? Hopefully the college consulted their attorneys as well as multiple physicians before making this requirement because there may be a case of discrimination if only obese students are involved. Just because someone has a low BMI number doesn't mean that they're any healthier than someone else with a higher number. The easiest solution would be to require all students to complete the fitness course.

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  Posted by Angela Mon Nov 23, 2009 3:07pm PST

  Well, the comments start out reasonable, then become insulting and degrading.

  Of course this policy where only obese students are forced to take health and fitness classes is discrimination. It presupposes that thin people are automatically healthy, which is not true. It also presupposes that thin people will not become obese, also not true. Finally, it presupposes that thin people are already educated in such matters, which is absoluely not true.

  It's pathetic that an institution of higher learning would DENY an entire group of people an education based on their looks, while FORCING education on others based on their looks.

  Fitness for Life means just that: Life. Assuming that people who are thin at age 18 or 20 will remain so at 30, 40, 50 and so on without education is foolishness.

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  Posted by Hannah Mon Nov 23, 2009 3:16pm PST

  NO one person should be singled out. Wether it be for weight issues, color or gender type!!! If the college really want to help they would make this class mandatory for the health of "all students"!!!

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  Posted by Angela Mon Nov 23, 2009 3:21pm PST

  Like Katie, I also had to take a gym class to graduate. This class was a requirement for ALL students, not just some. Unfortunately, at the time, the class was widely considered a joke, and I admit to skipping it quite a lot.

  The teacher was a local football coach, and gave us the option of walking for an hour and a half or running football drills with him. It was a shame, because we had a beautiful, fully equipped gym that went mostly unused except for our sports teams. Two semesters later he was fired, and a new fitness program was implemented at the school. Real instructors were hired, non-credit aerobics classes were opened up to the community and offered to the students free of charge. I took them all the rest of the semesters I was there.

  My point here is that when a program is run well, promoted well, and implemented as a positive rather than a negative, it will be warmly received. If it's implemented as a punishment, it will be received as such.

  Why go to a school where the administration will nag at you for your weight? There are a hundred schools where you don't have to put up with that crap, that have names attached to them, and have reputations for parties to boot.

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