Should BMI Trump GPA as a Graduation Requirement?

Lincoln University students now have one more hurdle to pass before graduation -- their body mass index, or BMI, has to be below 30, or they have to take a physical education course, reports the Huffington Post. This requirement, called "Fitness for Life," was implemented in 2006, but this is the first year the rule will keep anyone from graduating, as more than two dozen African-American students will be ineligible to receive their diplomas based solely on their weight this semester.

This brings up a whole slew of questions, the first of which is this: Why are they using BMI as a marker? Studies have shown that BMI is not an accurate indicator of obesity across the board -- it varies by race due to body type. For example, according to the co-author of a recent study in the British Medical Journal of Nutrition, non-Hispanic white women are considered obese with a BMI of 30 or more, which for Hispanic women that number is 28, and for African American women, it's closer to 32.

Also, consider where BMI came from. Theo Pavlidis, author of The (Lack of) Science Behind the Body Mass Index, writes, "I find very disturbing to use a statistical measure derived over 150 years ago, most likely, from a group of young men to determine the proper weight for men and women of any age."

The next obvious question is whether a university has any right to weigh in on its students' weight. On one hand, I appreciate the fact that they're taking an interest in student health -- part of preparing for life beyond the ivy walls is learning how to take responsibility for one's own health, and it's great to see a college take an active role in that preparation.

But, there are other (and better) places to start, like the cafeteria. While I'm not personally familiar with the food served there, one apparent former student, Francis, who commented on The Lincolnian's article on the regulation said, "... [I]t is counterproductive for the university to require students to have an 'acceptable' BMI when they offer hamburgers as a daily food option in the cafeteria. Of course there were other options, yet the majority of the students did not find them palatable. I'm sure the Chinese take-out, Dominos, or Pat's can attest to the number of students who frequent their facilities."

Other commenters touched on these issues and more, including a college administrator called JC, who asks, "[W]hy only obese students? Why not students who smoke, drink alcohol, drink 'energy' drinks, who ride buses instead of walking to class, etc.[?]?" Commenter Marianne asks, "[W]hat about underweight individuals, people who suffer from anorexia?"

One final consideration -- since health is a universal issue, why not require, say, all incoming freshman to take a course, rather than segregate the ones who are obese? Because, yes, obesity is a major problem, for sure (just check out these hidden costs of obesity!), but college students face other challenges as well.