Thatgirl08's recent post titled "I can't be the only fat person to go to college" got me thinking. I looked back over my educational history and came to the conclusion that -- at least in the institutions I attended -- there is indeed a shortage of fat people on campus. Of the approximately 1100 students who passed through the doors of Lewis & Clark Law School while I was in attendance only one (1) would have been classified as class 3 obese (i.e. morbidly obese).
I searched to internet for demographic data and found a 2002 JAMA article with the following statistics based on 2000 data:
Education Level and Percentage of Class 3 Obesity (2000)
-- Less than High School, 3.4%
-- High School Only, 2.4%
-- College, but less than 4 years, 2.2%
-- 4 Years of College or more, 1.2%
Source: Freedman DS, et al. Trends and Correlates of Class 3 Obesity in the United States from 1990 through 2000. JAMA 2002;288:1758-1761. Note: class 3 obesity is a BMI over 40, often referred to as (and I hate this term) morbid obesity.
The college grad statistics are consistent with my personal observations. They go further and show that the least educated segment of society is almost 300% more likely to be morbidly obese. I've read many commentaries hypothesizing as to why poor people are fatter than rich (i.e. can't afford good food, good food not available in poor neighborhoods, limited opportunities for recreation or exercise ....). However, I have not read any commentary regarding why fat people don't go to college in representative numbers.
Thatgirl08's post identified lack of physical accommodation as a potential barrier. This made me think that it might be more productive to ask why fat people aren't pursuing education in representative numbers as opposed to looking for reasons poor people are fat. Therefore, I'd like to ask the Dimensions Community if they can Identify other barriers fat students face and, also, how to best address these barriers.
I searched to internet for demographic data and found a 2002 JAMA article with the following statistics based on 2000 data:
Education Level and Percentage of Class 3 Obesity (2000)
-- Less than High School, 3.4%
-- High School Only, 2.4%
-- College, but less than 4 years, 2.2%
-- 4 Years of College or more, 1.2%
Source: Freedman DS, et al. Trends and Correlates of Class 3 Obesity in the United States from 1990 through 2000. JAMA 2002;288:1758-1761. Note: class 3 obesity is a BMI over 40, often referred to as (and I hate this term) morbid obesity.
The college grad statistics are consistent with my personal observations. They go further and show that the least educated segment of society is almost 300% more likely to be morbidly obese. I've read many commentaries hypothesizing as to why poor people are fatter than rich (i.e. can't afford good food, good food not available in poor neighborhoods, limited opportunities for recreation or exercise ....). However, I have not read any commentary regarding why fat people don't go to college in representative numbers.
Thatgirl08's post identified lack of physical accommodation as a potential barrier. This made me think that it might be more productive to ask why fat people aren't pursuing education in representative numbers as opposed to looking for reasons poor people are fat. Therefore, I'd like to ask the Dimensions Community if they can Identify other barriers fat students face and, also, how to best address these barriers.
