College's Too Fat to Graduate rule under fire.

[pbear19]

Originally Posted by SydneyK

I had typed a response to all this and lost it. Sooooo... in a nutshell:

I have to agree with KSigRC on this. Having below 30 BMI = testing out, IMO. Sure, BMI may not be the best test, but it's black & white and easy to figure. I can see why they chose BMI as the determining factor.

Regarding pbear's and 33girl's statements about knowledge, I don't think knowledge is always enough. And I think that's consistent with the ultimate goal of institutions of higher learning. Having knowledge about healthy lifestyles isn't enough to keep you from being obese. It'd be like a smoker telling an insurance company that his premiums should be that of a non-smoker's since he knows the dangers of smoking. Knowledge needs to be put into action if it's really to mean anything.

Hmm. So you think that it's appropriate to force a 100-level course on a 30+ BMI person who knows everything there is to know about health and fitness, but who has a psychological barrier from putting that knowledge into action? Just because of their psychological issues? What exactly is that class going to teach them?

It is a very REAL fact that many people who are overweight are overweight because of emotional/psychological issues. A basic health class in college isn't going to fix that, and in some cases it makes it worse. To single them out for their weight, in spite of their level of knowledge, could very well exacerbate the underlying issues.

As for the analogy of the smoker and his insurance premiums, I'm completely lost on how that is even remotely similar to this situation. I don't think anyone is saying the 30+ BMI person is healthy. It's just that a college course should be about disseminating knowledge. And BMI is NOT a measure of knowledge.

[SydneyK]

Originally Posted by pbear19

It is a very REAL fact that many people who are overweight are overweight because of emotional/psychological issues. A basic health class in college isn't going to fix that, and in some cases it makes it worse. To single them out for their weight, in spite of their level of knowledge, could very well exacerbate the underlying issues.

I absolutely agree that many people who are overweight have psychological issues. While a health/PE class won't fix those issues, it will, perhaps, get the student moving more. Which, ideally, could reduce that student's BMI.

Originally Posted by pbear19

As for the analogy of the smoker and his insurance premiums, I'm completely lost on how that is even remotely similar to this situation. I don't think anyone is saying the 30+ BMI person is healthy. It's just that a college course should be about disseminating knowledge. And BMI is NOT a measure of knowledge.

@ bolded: To an extent, yes, college courses should aim to produce knowledge. However, simply having knowledge about something isn't always enough. The smoking analogy was meant to convey that. A smoker may know the dangers of smoking (much like someone with a BMI over 30 may know the dangers of obesity), but until action is taken (i.e. quitting smoking, or losing weight), what good is that knowledge?