Callace

News: A Different Kind of Test - Inside Higher Ed

WTF! Denied graduation just bc they weigh too much?? I know it is a health problem, but the school board have really nothing to do with it, since it has no influence on your test results how much you weighh!

vc318

Just ridiculous. But then again the story of the baby denied health coverage for being too overweight doesn't surprise me either.

BrokenButterfly

And the skinny alcoholics and druggies are breathing a sigh of relief they dont have to get tests to show they are sober / drug free or be forced to take a class on the "risks" of it. And so are smokers.

Or what about the anorexics? Surely they can't be allowed to graduate without showing weight gain...

Im sorry, but that story is the stupidest thing I've seen all day.

TheAngel

You know, I don't really have a problem with this. Especially since, in the majority of cases, obesity is preventable and it is a huge cost to the American health care system. According to this article, obesity cost $117 billion in 2000 (and I believe obesity rates have increased since then) and results in approximately 300,000 deaths. It is the responsibility of colleges to prepare students to enter the world as knowledgeable, responsible adults, and keeping oneself healthy so as to be a productive member of society and keep from being a drain upon resources should be part of that. Besides, anorexia has never been as much of a universal health problem. It is an issue that needs to be addressed, but there are a lot more obese people out there and they cost taxpayers a lot more.
Also, I don't know what college you went to, but most drug addicts won't be able to get to graduation anyway. Alcoholism is an issue for a lot of college age students, but other than occasionally smoking pot, there are very few serious addicts that graduate from universities simply because the nature of addiction (in cases where the person is not independently wealthy and drugs are not easy to obtain) makes it impossible to complete the coursework required to graduate.

BrokenButterfly

your saying its that it seems like theres no problem with denying these people their graduation, that they've earned by completing the required courses, because their "fat"?

I put fat in quotations because BMI has been known to be completely inaccurate.

Then prepare ALL students. Dont say "Hey, you over there..yeah, your fat, so listen..lose some weight or take this class cause you wont graduate otherwise" Not only that, but requiring them to take a class? Dont students pay per course? Thats how I paid for my courses. So thats like saying "fat" people have to pay more than ones that aren't, to get the same degree? Give me a break.

Its incredibly discriminating. I'm all for educating people, but I think they should take a different approach in informing the students and building awareness about it. Offer a class, sure. But DON'T make it mandatory for only people you deem "fat", using a system that is riddled with inaccuracies

sunnykerr

Well...

The school system here in the province of Quebec is different than... pretty much everywhere else as far as I can tell. So I won't bore you with the details. But, basically, they shave a year off "elementary/high school" and a year off university, slap it together and have that be what I'll call college so as to distinguish it from university.

It's a two-year program between high school and university and, essentially, it's meant as a preparatory thing. You have basic requirements (mine were things like 3 phys ed classes over the four total semesters, two "philosophy" classes... and others, it's been a while), but it's mostly classes that deal with your specialty (mine was languages and literature).

So, everyone had phys ed requirements. And, at my school, that meant everyone had to take Wellness. A class dedicated to healthy living, from showing you healthy diet, to building your own workout regimen, to discussing the risks of obesity. Everyone had to take it.

I don't think it's fair to prevent someone to graduate right before they're about to because they're not in good shape. I do think obesity is an epidemic and something needs to be done about it.

Especially in the States where the health-care system is so punitive.

TheAngel

Hey, they knew the requirements. I know all the requirements I had to have before I graduated. If I hadn't fulfilled one of them, I would have been denied graduation. I was an English and Criminal Justice major and if I'd failed to take my science course, I wouldn't have graduated. These students knew what was expected of them and it's their fault for not fulfilling their graduation requirements. As far as paying to take classes, most students take a lot of filler courses, most do. I was a double major, graduated in three and a half years, and still took filler classes, so my bet is that some of these students could have not taken one filler class and instead could have taken the fitness class. Of course, I think all college students should be required to take health and fitness classes, including classes about the dangers of alcohol, because that's a huge problem amongst college students.

Also, you may believe that BMI isn't an accurate measure of body fat, but they're talking about 30%, which, for someone my height, means they would weigh 174lbs. I don't really care what your feelings are. Someone that's 5'4 and weighs 174lbs is fat. And actually, according to this study, BMI underrepresented actual body fat percentages.
There's also the fact that classes like these can allow overweight students to understand why they overeat, such as depression, poor body image, and a variety of emotional issues that are often the cause of obesity. I don't have a problem with students having to take these classes. I agree, make all students take them, but until then, it's a proven fact that obesity is a huge economic problem in the US so yes, in the same way that students with special educational needs are treated differently than those who don't have them, students with special physical needs should have different standards.

ceilirose

If you're overeating because of emotional problems then this ruling isn't going to help at all. It's like anyone with an emotional problem that's holding them back in some way - wagging your finger at them doesn't help one bit.

We've become a nation that's sympathetic to anorexics and bulimics but 50 lbs overweight? It's all your fault - deal with it. Of course you could make the same argument about someone with anorexia too but that's not going to happen.

As a country we pay for many groups to subsidize their lifestyle so I can't get all worked up about this one. A good majority of them need education on lifestyle choices, wellness, diet etc. not punitive measures.

TheAngel

Hey, like I said, I'm totally OK with everyone having to take this course. I think it could be helpful because a lot of skinny people have very unhealthy lifestyles. But if you look at it simply from a financial perspective, anorexics and bulimics do not cost the US health care system as much as people who are overweight and as a taxpayer who may someday have to pay into a universal health care system, of which overweight people will use a disproportionate amount of funds compared to someone like myself who lives a healthy lifestyle, something like this is important to me.

ceilirose

Well we don't have universal health care yet and at this point, if it does pass, it will be something that's watered down to please the politically powerful and corporate interests in this country. Calling it universal health care is a misnomer.

Anyway I'm all for healthy lifestyles and educating people to live well but like sunny said - something like this is just punitive. For certain people the reasons they are obese or anorexic are so complex that a semester's worth of classes and some pep talk isn't going to do anything. I'd be for classes for a healthy lifestyle that begins at an early age as being pro-active than this situation.

vc318

But some people just can't help being overweight. It's not necessarily due to poor health choices, right?

sunnykerr

I think there's a difference between being large and being obese, though.

Not that anyone should be too harsh on people who are obese, because it's obviously the result of something, be it emotional or psychological issues or just a lack of understanding with regards to nutrition.

I wouldn't call it a choice either, becuase that implies a deliberate action.

But you don't get to be fifty, a hundred or two hundred pounds overweight just because you're big boned or because it's genetic.

And I think it is an illness that needs to be treated as such and not as some sort of chosen leprosy thing. But it needs to be addressed.

vc318

Very true. I've known people who are diabetic and as much as they try to change their lifestyle (eating healthier and so forth), shedding the pounds is difficult because of the disease. Maybe they should be going after people who smoke and drink - now that's deliberately harming yourself.

TheAngel

Of course, there's also a lot of cases where the person became diabetic because of their obesity, not the other way around, in which case, to me, that's just as deliberate as smoking and drinking in order to harm yourself. Besides, as long as you control your diabetes well, with insulin and eating healthily, there is no real reason you can't lose weight, though I agree, that would be difficult. In terms of thyroid conditions and other biological causes of weight loss, those are certainly in the minority, and in a lot of those cases medication, diet, and exercise can at least increase the person's health and have a positive impact on their weight, though they may never be supermodels (then again, neither will I no matter how much time I spend on the treadmill).

sunnykerr

I think that diabetes is especially one of those cases where the person has to make a real effort to maintain a good diet. And I'm not talking about trying to lose weight, but about helping out one's body - whether through the strenghtening of the immune system (in the case of Type 1) or through addressing the insulin resistance (Type 2).

I had a friend who was diagnosed with diabetes as a toddler and is today living a completely normal life before her parents were completely pro-active in regulating her diet from a young age.

And it's been proven that healthy changes in diet and exercise can COMPLETELY reduce the risk of getting Type 2 diabetes and, when you have it, reduce its severity and impact.

So while a person probably can't control whether they get diabetes or not, I think that diagnosis should be incentive to take care of themselves as opposed to a reason why they can't.