US university links exam success to weight loss

[ccharles000]

How would you feel if you had studied for your university degree but were unable to graduate because you were overweight?

This is what some students are facing at Lincoln University in the US which has introduced a unique way of tackling obesity.

In 2006, the university in Pennsylvania introduced its Fitness for Life programme with the aim of encouraging students to lose weight.

The premise was that if a student had a body mass index (BMI) - a ratio of weight to height - of above 30, then they should take some college-sanctioned steps to show they had lost weight or at least tried.

The course includes walking, Pilates, exercises and fitness games.

But this year, some students have not completed the course, so they may not be able to graduate.

Professor James L DeBoy, head of the Health, Physical Education and Recreation department at Lincoln University, who proposed the programme, says that around 30 students are unlikely to pass.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8376858.stm