Lincoln University (never heard of it) in Pennsylvania is requiring students with a BMI over 30 (and therefore clinically obese) to take an "exercise" course in order to graduate. (1) Let's see if this catches on, my guess is that it will not. Is it right to require this of students? Should it not be a choice (that is, to be fat)? This is going to be a major debate in healthcare in the next 20-30 years (Kessler's End of Overeating once again comes to mind).
1. Norris, Michele (host). Pa. University Targets Overweight Students, a segment on All Things Considered. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120784381&ft=1&f=2. Accessed November 25, 2009.
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I'm all for requiring exercise courses, but not in this fashion. It needs to be uniform for all people.
ReplyDeleteHow much of the time is obesity related to self-esteem issues? This wouldn't exactly help in that regard. Think of the person who's right over the line and it's being brought to their attention in a manner that is broadcast to others (other people in the class, friends & family who know their schedule, etc). Healthy lifestyles include more than weight, and this may fail to take that into account.
Also this misses the fact that a lot of people continue to gain weight after high school or college, so focusing on people currently obese will miss a lot of people who will develop weight-related health problems.
Another thought I have with this is that I think the setup of phy. ed. courses in general need to be reconsidered. Instead of forced/observed exercise as it always is now, I think schools/colleges should consider voluntary exercise training. Do something like current phy. ed. courses in the beginning to teach people what they need to know (i.e. weight lifting technique, stretching, etc.), but then let people on their own and check in occasionally. Give people fitness goals that if they attain, they get to skip the actual phy. ed. courses. If not, they have to retake the course or something. This would basically apply to high school and college - not necessarily middle school and certainly not elementary school.