A new graduation requirement

At Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, students are doing more than hitting the books.

As part of a new requirement the University has imposed, students must pass the “BMI test” in order to place out of a mandatory fitness class required to receive a diploma.

If a student has a Body Mass Index of more than 30 (which is considered obese), a physical education class is added to his or her schedule.

Controversial? Absolutely.

A student who disagreed with the mandatory class, and who is taking the class, wrote a column in the school’s newspaper that raised awareness of the issue entitled, “Too Fat to Graduate.”

Initially, I felt that this requirement was ridiculous – completely absurd, paternalistic, even discriminatory. How can a university dictate a person’s personal choices, albeit unhealthy?

Then, turning political as always, I realized that Lincoln is starting a trend that will benefit the taxpayers of our country.

The pending health insurance bill has a price tag of $1.2 trillion, which includes a public option intended to make insurance companies more competitive. Of course, health care will be more costly for both individuals and companies paying for medical insurance when pre-existing conditions exist, and now, those subsidizing a potential public option.

While many find fault with the higher costs relating to pre-existing conditions, it only makes sense on the part of the insurance companies. After all, auto insurance is more expensive for sports cars and motorcycles, and for those who have been ticketed for various violations.

Similarly, homeowners insurance is going to be significantly more expensive for homes that sit on mountain sides in California, or those that were built on a beach in Florida, simply because they have a higher risk of being damaged or destroyed.
The same goes for health insurance.

If a person has a condition prior to obtaining insurance, they are likely to require more health care than a healthy individual.

Lincoln University is helping to lower health insurance costs by combating the potential conditions that can result from obesity, such as diabetes and heart disease. After all, more than 34 percent of Americans are now considered obese, according to a Reuters report .

Though I’m sure insurance costs weren’t on University officials’ minds when this rule was initiated, imagine what would happen if all colleges and workplaces required people to get healthier in order to graduate or be promoted.

There’s health care reform for you!

Realistically, this plan would never work. Nor should it. Our institutions should not tell us to put down the Big Mac and get on the treadmill.

People who are overweight are not oblivious to it, but it is their choice to change their personal habits, not their degree granting institution. Surely Lincoln University had good intentions with this mandatory fitness class, but it’s time to lift this weight, pun intended.