function hide_user_promo_bubble_second_stage() { var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble"); bubble.style.display = "none"; } function hide_user_promo_bubble() { var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble"); var myAnim = new YAHOO.util.Anim(bubble, { opacity: { to: 0 } }, 1, YAHOO.util.Easing.easeOut); myAnim.animate(); setTimeout("hide_user_promo_bubble_second_stage()", 1100); } function handle_promo_username(params) { var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble"); var img = $("user_promo_bubble_image"); var anchor = $("user_promo_bubble_link"); if (params.has_photo == "true") { img.src = "http://images.huffingtonpost.com/profiles/" + params.user_id + "-tiny.png"; } else { img.style.display = "none"; Dom.addClass(anchor, "wide"); } anchor.innerHTML = "Shared by " + params.user_name; anchor.href = "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/" + params.user_name; bubble.style.display = "block"; var myAnim = new YAHOO.util.Anim(bubble, { opacity: { to: 1 } }, 2, YAHOO.util.Easing.easeOut); myAnim.animate(); } if (HuffPoUtil.getUrlVar("user_promo")) { YAHOO.util.Event.onDOMReady(function() { var parts = document.location.hash.split(","), shared_by = "", badge = "", i; if (parts.length < 2) return; for (i = 0; i < parts.length; i++) { if (parts[i].indexOf("sb=") !== -1) { shared_by = parts[i]; } if (parts[i].indexOf("b=") !== -1) { badge = parts[i]; } } if (shared_by == "" || badge == "") return; var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble"); if (!bubble) return; var entry_id = HuffPoUtil.GetEntryID(); if (!entry_id) return; var user_id = parseInt(shared_by.substr(shared_by.indexOf("sb=") + 3)); if (!user_id) return; var badge_type = badge.substr(badge.indexOf("b=") + 2); if (!badge_type) return; script = document.createElement("script"); script.setAttribute("type", "text/javascript"); bubble.appendChild(script); script.setAttribute("src", "/include/share_track.php?a=view&eid=" + entry_id + "&uid=" + user_id + "&b=" + badge_type + "&cb=handle_promo_username"); }); } Too Fat To Graduate? Lincoln University's BMI Requirement Causes Uproar

Lincoln University students now have one more hurdle to pass before they graduate: losing weight. According to a recently instituted requirement, university students with a body mass index (BMI) over 30 will have to take a physical education class in order to receive their diploma.

The program "Fitness for Life" began in 2006, but this is the first year the effects will be felt. This spring, the new requirement will keep over two dozen students -- all black -- from graduating.

The new rule has been criticized around the blogosphere, and has not been well received by the student body.

"What's the point of this? What does my BMI have to do with my academic overcome?" asked Dionard Henderson, a freshman. "Some students on campus are just confused why a certain BMI has to be a requirement. Are there not a sufficient amount of prerequisites to complete prior to graduating from college?

Comments

[Beth Treisner]

"The new requirement will keep over two dozen students -- all black -- from graduating."

Just FYI, Lincoln is a historic African American University - while not all students there are black, over 90% of them are.

[Santos Medrano]

First off, anybody who hasn't read the CNN.com article on this subject really needs to. It's a more detailed and balanced article. Second, I'm of a very mixed opinion about this. I see both sides of the argument. Obesity is a major problem in this country and something need to be done about it. However, is this the right way to go about it?

[docs3]

A short question and thought. What if one of those students that don't graduate had the cure for cancer in his/her God given mind. Thinking or reasoning like this becomes a real problem when it ventures in " fatty colored pathological mindset" . We being the receivers of inequalities should never be the ones that brings inequality. There are no "right" in this university's decision. Our universities are charged with bring our best to the frontiers of knowledge. Whether a size 10 or a size 50 waistline. We are having enough problems with our future "brain trust" population as it stand now across this nation. Why introduce another "dilution factor" to that population.

[lonehorseman]

It is a sad day when americans are so stupid & lazy that they need to be educated in order to be aware that it is bad for their health to be a fat lazy slob. Not only is it bad for their own health, but the health of their descendants to 4th generation. Anything you do to your body in this life will genetically effect your children, your grandchildren & your great grandchildren, and their children. It is your responsiblity to the people you intend to produce from you loins & those your mate, to keep yourself in good health.

[Phillyphan1225]

What a joke! If this is not another way to get more money for an extra useless class, I don't know what is!!! How about binge drinking on campus-any classes on that? Smoking? I think being fat (Christian or a "redneck") are the last 3 things in our society that are open for this kind of double-standard. The insurance companies do have a right to charge extra for things such as weight, smoking, drinking, etc. as it DOES indeed cost them money in the long run. But what right does a school have? Is the fact that one of their graduates was overweight going to cost them anything? I don't think so. When does this stop? how about people who have a chance of being overweight, do they not graduate? How about being thin but having high cholesterol-does this count? why not-this is unhealthy too...how about being thin, but having heart disease that runs in the family-why not do a family history before the diploma gets sent...make sure everyone buckles those seat belts, wears their motorcycle helmets and uses condoms-big brother is watching!

[pjmmaxx]

This comment is from a mother of a University-graduated student and former employee of a University and know very much about the college system. I just believe that somwhere along the way many forget that all students "pay" for an education and pay dearly. That pay may come from multiple entities, but the bottom line is that they must get what they "pay/paid" for and this is surely education as a service to be provided, and the professors and instructors are getting paid to provide that service. They need to stop forcing their personal wishes upon anyone and just be dedicated to the education set out in universal guidelines. The person who paid for the college service need not have to worry about personal features. My Lord! I have seen some very unappealing, obese/frail, weird-looking and very worrisome-acting educators on college campuses. -- Kentucky Lady

[Jimboy17]

Mens sana in corpore sano indeed.

[mudshark12]

First comes conforming to the BMI policy or no diploma, next will be conforming to the anti-smoking policy or no diploma....

People who make up rules like this are always making them up for someone else "for their own good". The students who go to that college pay tuition which the college receives without conditions so putting conditions on graduating is unfair. And stupid as it treats adults as if they were children. People must have the liberty to learn form their own mistakes.

[tompoe]

Good points, but you're way off base. Phys Ed classes are almost pure profit for the school.

[fireincarnation]

If you read carefully, you can tell this is super-sensationalized. Students with a BMI over 30 have to take an extra class, one presumably designed to help them gain the knowledge to have control over their weight. I think the college is looking out for it's overweight students, and wants to make sure they graduate knowing at least one way to exercise properly so that the student has more control over what he or she weighs. I see nothing in there saying these students have to lose weight or change anything about their lifestyle. It would be nice to see them requiring a basic exercise class out of everyone, but surely there is not the room, so clearly they are targeting the students who need it the most. Good thinking!

[Mexi Claus]

Let's see: new BMI requirement, and junk food in the vending machines. Classes are probably a $500 each at least plus fees, etc. Things that make you go hmmm...

[Phreejazz]

This is a moronic requirement, and the BMI is a moronic measure of obesity or anything else. At my most "in-shape" I had a BMI over 31 while having 8% body fat.

[AirForceWx1701]

I was going to post the exact same thing! I'm 6' 2 1/2 " and weigh in between 235-245; to have a BMI of 25 [aka not "obese"] I would have to weigh below 195. I have been that thin once in my adult life, at the end of basic military training. My wife says I looked like a refygee, with ribs, hips, and tailbone way too prominent. The Air Force has been fond of BMI, largely because senior leaders are all beanpoles, LOL. But yeah, BMI is far from a detailed, reliable indicator of an individual's body weight, especially because it does not take into account the person's bone structure. {"I'm not fa.t, I'm big-boned!" LOL]

[missbelladog]

I learned nothing in all my school or college PE courses that "educated" me about maintaining fitness in my adult lifetime. I hope that has changed.

[helenwheels74]

hey, if i have to pay extra for medical insurance because i'm foolish/weak enough to be a smoker, then why shouldn't other groups who risk their health and inconvenience other people have to suffer, too?

[lislbc]

pay yes - but nobody is forcing you to quit, or preventing you from timely access to completion of projects or getting a job until you go take a no-smoking course.
This is way out of line. If an educational institution wants to make fitness classes or education part of their mandatory courses - even in every year - for everybody, that's something that can be implemented with the agreement of the student body and everyone else involved. Frankly, they have no right to measure a students' BMI, much less impose sanctions based on it. This isn't public school - these folks are paying through the nose to be there. They are the University's customers, not the University's prisoners.

[helenwheels74]

i see your point(s)... but if smokers or other addicts (and i do think that most cases of obesity are caused by addictive behaviors) had to take a health course directed at their issues in order to graduate, i don't think there would be much backlash. an education should be not only academic, but teach young people how to make the best choices for themselves. if all students took a mandatory class which addressed these and other real-life issues (sexual health, coping skills, how to keep your apartment tidy, etc.) we may come out of school a little more prepared to deal with living in the world. but it's a given that many people are going to ignore the information they have and behave in self-destructive ways anyway, and that's up to them. now, if you'll excuse me, i'm going outside to have a smoke.
p.s.
so, no, i don't think obese people should be singled out, but this case could be a great opportunity to redefine what a well-rounded education should include.

[RationalDubSteppa]

I agree with this. We're getting way to fat in this country and it's about time our educational institutions get proactive about the problem!

[Utty]

Yes there is personal responsibility no doubt. But the food industry needs to be better regulated. Most of the food we eat now a days isn't what our bodies are meant to ingest. It's modified to the point of being unrecognizable by our bodies. Our metabolisms don't know what to do with High Fructose Corn Syrup and it is in almost EVERYTHING, even whole wheat bread, canned beans etc. It stimulates appetite and turns rapidly to fat because when our bodies do not know what to do with HFCS it stores it as fat immediately. If you want to eat "normal" food you have to pay much more. Many students don't have the money for this. Unlike smoking you must eat.

Then you take our vegetables and fruit. Most of these things are SICK because they are grown in environments that malnurish them. So they jack them up with chemicals. So even if you are eating broccoli etc you're not getting the vitamens and nutrients you think you are. You're getting sick chemicaly treated crap. Before we blame people who are obese we need to look at what kind of food we have to eat. What we are FORCED to buy because it's all that is out there. You want to eat entirely healthy food? Grow your own garden. Don't have land? Most people don't. Don't have a lot of money to spend to find healthy food? You're probably starving. Most over weight people are starving because of malnutrition.

[lonehorseman]

I agree that the food companies are trying to force us to eat their crap, instead of healthy nutritious food...perhaps they are in league with paharmaceutical companies that want us to be sick & malnourished so we will also be forced to buy their medication & suplements.
I am fortunate enough to live in a very rural area where I can grow a garden, but it is VERY hard work, especially when you're 40 with alot of old injuries that hurt all the time, but to me it is worth the pain & effort in order to have food that I know is safe & healthy to eat.

[seereene1]

The only way a requirement like this would make any sense is if the institution also required students to pass a healthy lifestyle course that included smoking cessation for those who smoke. Drug education about the dangers of both illegal and prescription drugs. Stress reduction to help people cope with the work world and not "go postal." Responsible alcohol usage and the dangers of alcoholism.
Don't just pick on the fat people because it's easy and their issue is easy to spot.