I came across this interesting article about a college in PA, that back in 2006, put a stipulation in place: you must have your BMI measured and if it’s above 30, you must take a mandatory exercise course that meets for three hours a week. If you do not take the class, you do not get to graduate.

Here is the article in its entirety: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/11/30/lincoln.fitness.overweight/index.html

I have mixed feelings about this. Mostly though, I am against it, though, for the simple reason that it seems very big Brotherish to me, and that’s a very slippery slope. Yes, obesity can lead to a multitude of health problems and reduced quality of life. But isn’t it up to the person how he/she decides to live their life?

To me, obesity is a symptom, not a cause. Same with other addictions – alcohol, drugs, sex, gambling, spending money, reckless relationships, and on and on and on – they are all symptoms of a problem. Forcing someone to take an exercise class because they are too big may not teach them anything.

But on the other hand, what if it does? What if, by design, a person goes to this college and has not learned about healthy eating and exercise up to this point? What if, by going to this class, a person gains self-esteem or self-motivation by seeing their body change and seeing they clearly do have more of an impact and control of their circumstances in life than they’d ever known or thought? There was a hint in this article that the college is attended by mostly lower-income students, people who might be at higher risk for other dangers in life simply due to lack of education.

And yet…and yet I can’t escape that niggling thought that this is just the beginning. If this school gets away with this mandate, what will they tackle next? Drug screenings? Mandatory STD tests? Random nicotine screenings? Breathalyzer tests?

How many of us would fail these tests out in the real world? And isn’t it our choice to fail? Whose “normal” are we trying to live up to, anyway? Even if we did fail today, that does not mean we’ll fail tomorrow. One of the blessings in life is learning lessons, and we all tend to learn the most important ones the hard way. It’s what makes us stronger. Sadly, most of these lessons can’t be taught in the time span of a semester or by taking a class. We have to be ready to learn our lessons before they sink in. Can that happen if the lesson is made mandatory? If a person did happen to change their life by taking this mandatory class, is it due to the class, or due to the student being ready and open to that particular lesson at that particular time in their life?

Then I think, “Oh who cares. It’s being done on a secondary education level. By the time you reach that level, you know what you’re agreeing to, and by going there, you are agreeing to the principles set forth.”

That is another part of life. We have choices, too. We choose how to live. We choose what we can live with, what is acceptable to us on a personal level, and what is not. The problem here is that it’s easier said than done. When push comes to shove, our personal principles often take the brunt of the hit in the name of the bigger picture. If a person was in their senior year when the mandate came out, and they were personally against the mandate, would the person quit school because of it? Doubtful.

Then I must circle back to my original stance and say this mandate is outlandish and unfair. Not everyone is going to measure up perfectly to this fairy-tale normal we all seem to strive for. In fact, most of us aren’t anywhere near this fairy-tale measurement. Normalcy is an illusion. This mandate is a threat to our individuality. It is a danger to our personal freedoms, and the choices that make us unique individuals.