Thin Yale Student Told To Put On Weight Or Face Expulsion
The last thing you expect to hear about the renowned Yale University is that the school has threatened to kick out a student simply because she is too thin.
Based on her BMI or Body Mass Index, 20-year-old Frances Chan is too thin to attend the esteemed establishment of higher education. She has a condition that health officials suspect stems from a serious eating disorder.
John, a student at Yale, weighed in with his take on the matter, which is turning into a hot discrimination debate: “It’s ridiculous, that they would try to push somebody out of school just because there are underweight.”
Another student at the University, Dianne Kaiyoorawongs, added: “They view it as a liability to themselves and it should be more about the student because we are a community.”
At a mere five foot two, and weighing just 92 pounds, Chan’s BMI is 16.7 which classifies her to be in the category regarded as “underweight.” Thankfully, months of arduous waiting have come to an end as Yale University finally accepted that Chan’s weight was due to her family history, and not because she was anorexic.
Dr. David Katz, Director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Center, said: “How many Americans are overweight or obese? We use the BMI to answer that question. We always face the greatest likelihood of misusing any tool or instrument or measure when it comes out of context,” he said.
Dr. Katz continued to support the fact that Yale had backed away from the highly controversial case: “We have to worry when we see any measure that hints at a potential medical problem. It is right to probe that but when you do the probing and you get information that tells you– no this is not a problem, then it’s time to back away,” said Katz.
Nevertheless, the whole saga raises burning questions as to why a student’s weight has anything to do with their being allowed into a particular college. After all, would people too fat. or too hairy, have the same difficult questions asked of them? You can share your thoughts on the matter in the comments feed below.
