At Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, students must take a core curriculum in order to graduate, much like every other school in the country. But until Saturday, Lincoln had one requirement that few other schools had: obese students were required to take a physical fitness class.

Fitness for Life, a one-credit course that educates students on good physical and nutritional habits, became a requirement in 2006 for all incoming students. After recent heated debate about the weight requirements of the class, the university made the class optional for its students Saturday.

Those with a Body Mass Index of 30 and under could waive the class before it was optional. Another exemption included passing a physical fitness course performed at another university, according to Lincoln University’s Web site.

Body Mass Index is a measure of body fat that takes into account one’s height and weight. Those with a BMI of over 30 are classified as obese. A normal BMI is considered to be in the range between 18.5 and 24.9, with those overweight falling between 25 and 29.9.

Lincoln also does a cardiovascular test and a waist measurement of students to ensure that it weeds out those students who may have more muscle skewing their readings.

But what appeared to be a good idea in theory led to allegations of singling out students who were obese.

Multiple phone calls to James DeBoy, chairman of the health and physical education department at Lincoln University, were not returned.

The way the course is framed makes it problematic, said Dessa Bergen-Cico, a Syracuse University health and wellness professor.

‘It’s sort of stigmatizing,’ Bergen-Cico said. ‘If I put myself in the body and mind of the student who had been singled out, I’d feel pretty shameful and singled out and resentful.’

Uproar over the requirements was not because of the nature of the class, Bergen-Cico said, but rather that those who were not obese could easily become exempt.

‘I’m somebody who thinks that physical fitness is important to life satisfaction,’ Bergen-Cico said. ‘But I strongly disagree with the way that they have it structured because they have it set up more like a beauty contest.’

Lincoln University is not the first school in the country to require a physical education course for graduation.

At Cornell University, students are required to pass a swimming test, and at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, students must take eight credits in physical education, in addition to passing a swimming test. At one point, SU had required a physical education course, Bergen-Cico said. She said she doesn’t see that sort of requirement coming back to campus.

While some were quick to condemn the program, not all affected by the program complained.

‘It actually doesn’t bother me because in high school we had to take gym class. You couldn’t graduate without taking a physical education class,’ said Nae Madison, a senior at Lincoln University who will be taking the class in the spring. ‘The class is not really hard. I think it’s the easiest class you’re going to have in college actually.’

Madison said she supports the university trying to aid students like her by offering the class.

‘It’s only going to help you out,’ she said. ‘It’s not like it’s going to derail your education or something. It’s something to help you out.’

lefulton@syr.edu

Published on December 7, 2009 at 12:00 pm

Contact Lorne: lefulton@syr.edu